Camarena 1

Miguel Angel Camarena

12/1/14
Dr. Ibarra
Health 1500-001
Research paper
PCP
PCP (phencyclidine) is a drug that came into use in the 1950s primarily as a
intravenous anesthetic. Due to the side effects of delusions and mania that it created in
the patients that were treated with it, phencyclidine was discontinued from use in 1965.
Phencyclidine first became available in the black market in the late 1960s and quickly
gained a reputation for being a dangerous hallucinogenic drug, even experienced drug
users became wary of using phencyclidine due to its unpredictable nature. There are
various stories in which people have overdosed from phencyclidine and passed away or
seriously hurt themselves while on Phencyclidine. One of the effects that this drug has in
its abusers is that in which it gives them a numbing sensation, due to this effect an abuser
may not realize when they have suffered from an injury. This drug is rumored to send its
abusers on a hellish nightmare in which they are no longer giving their bodies direction.
NIDA states that, some abusers will continue to use phencyclidine due to the feelings of
strength, power, and invulnerability. Many of the people who use phencyclidine can
only recall fragments of their high or they cant recall the high at all. Phencyclidine is
rarely talked about in comparison to other popular drugs of abuse like Marijuana,
Cocaine, LSD, Mushrooms, or Meth but the public reserves the right to educate

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themselves on the history and harmful effects that this drug can and will produce to its
abusers.
Phencyclidine is often referred to as Angel Dust, Hog, Sheets, Sernylan, and
Ozone. Phencyclidine can be found in a variety of tablets, pills, and various different
colored powders. Phencyclidine can be absorbed through the nasal pathways, smoked
generally by sprinkling an amount of the powder on top of marijuana, and orally ingested.
Phencyclidine is quickly absorbed in the body and can quickly produce a hallucinogenic
high that may last anywhere from four to six hours.
Phencyclidine is a dissociative hallucinogen drug. A dissociative drug is a drug
that distorts the perception of sights, sounds and that produces a feeling of astral
projection and where they felt like they could spiritually leave their body and travel to
other places. Phencyclidine can also cause users to feel distant from their surroundings;
this is an affect that can be loosely translated to feeling like you are everywhere and
nowhere at the same time.
People that are under the influence of phencyclidine are unpredictable and
therefor can be a danger to themselves and to the people around them. Phencyclidine
disrupts the normal function of the NMDA complexes for the glutamate neurotransmitter.
Glutamate receptors play a major role in the perception of pain, cognitive function, and in
emotional balance. Phencyclidine is responsible for the feeling of numbness, inability to
adequately process time, and for the dramatic fluctuations of euphoria, anxiety, and
paranoia.
Phencyclidine also alters the function of Dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a
chemical found naturally in the brain that is involved with many emotions including

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euphoria, motivation, and addiction. Many drugs on the black market and in the medical
world today directly influence the dopamine levels in the brain. Phencyclidine makes
dopamine flood the receptors and therefor the feeling of euphoria in the phencyclidine
abusers is created and the reason why phencyclidine can be addicting.
Some high school students would admit that phencyclidine was never offered or
present their lives and because of that they were not aware of the dangers behind the drug
and how easily it can be slipped to them in another drug. Phencyclidine is a drug that is
rumored dangerous and unpredictable when questioned and only a few students would
openly admit to quenching their curiosity for it. Media and rumors have played a mayor
role in the way that is has been perceived by the general public. Phencyclidine is a drug
that most students would regard as a detrimental hardcore drug that just isnt worth it.
The social groups that a student is involved with greatly influences the probability
that phencyclidine as well as other drugs will be present in their life. "The brain is built to
learn by imitating," says Jay Giedd, MD, who has spent a lot of time researching
teenagers' brains." Young children imitate their parents; adolescents imitate their peers."
Adolescents in school are greatly influenced by the people that they surround themselves
with and as such they need to be cautious and selective with the friends that they choose.
A student will be more inclined to experiment with drugs then an adolescent that has
surrounded himself/herself with a group that puts a great influence on getting high marks
on their exams or a group that emphasizes on health and sports.
Drug
Hallucinog
ens

Time
Period
Lifetime

8th
Graders
2.50

10th
Graders
5.40

12th
Graders
7.60

Past
Year

1.60

3.40

4.50

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LSD

Ketamine
PCP

Salvia

Past
Month
Lifetime
Past
Year
Past
Month
Past
Year
Lifetime
Past
Year
Past
Month
Past
Year

0.80

1.10

1.40

1.40
1.00

2.70
1.70

3.90
2.20

0.50

0.60

0.80

1.40

1.30
0.70

0.40

1.20

2.30

[3.40]

*Graph in percentage courtesy of NIDA.

The graph shown above monitored the trends in prevalence of 8th, 10th, and 12th
graders and the result showed that only about 1.3 percent of the students had reported
being exposed to phencyclidine. Phencyclidine abuse is not as common as hallucinogenic
drugs and as such is showing signs of a decrease in use. Students are generally become
more aware of the dangers of using this dissociative drug.
People that have taken phencyclidine at low levels, will have an increase in blood
pressure, a elevated pulse rate and faster breathing rate. The abuser will feel a numbing
sensation of his/her extremities, they will have a flushing of the skin, and they will have a
hard time with coordination. Abusers that have taken phencyclidine at high doses will
have a dramatic drop in blood, pulse, and breathing rates. The abuser may also
experience nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, and eyes flicking up/down. The abuser may
also become violent or suicidal due to the intense phencyclidine depression. An abuser
that has overdosed on phencyclidine is subject to seizures, comma, or death.
Phencyclidine effects on the mind can mimic schizophrenia. A phencyclidine
addict can experience delusions, hallucinations, severe paranoia, and distorted thinking.

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Long-term effects of phencyclidine include a psychological dependence to phencyclidine,
memory loss, trouble with speech and thinking, and depression. A former abuser may
continue to experience these symptoms up to 1 year after last use.
Phencyclidine is a dangerous unpredictable drug and everyone should stay clear
from it. It can turn even the most intelligent of adolescents and adults alike into criminals
if left unmonitored and without rehabilitation. Yes, he carjacked a man at gunpoint last
November in Hanover, but he also earned his high school equivalency certificate at the
age of 15 and was ready to give up drugs and turn his life around. this is a quote from a
trial given to a juvenile that experimented with drugs and among them was
phencyclidine. The juvenile admitted that he was under the influence of phencyclidine
and that he wouldnt have had committed those actions if he had not been under the
influence of the hallucinogen. The juvenile later apologized to the police department for
trying to flee from them when he was no longer under the influence of the drug.
All through life we are faced with choices everyday, some more important than
others but the principal of it should be the same, we need to think about what we bring
into our bodies and have common sense over any peer pressure. Phencyclidine is rarely
talked about in comparison to other popular drugs but the public need to educate
themselves on the harmful effects that this drug can and will produce to its abusers if
consumed without proper prior education.

Camarena 6

Works Cited

"A Day In The Life Of A Teen." Science World 62.13 (2006): 8. MasterFILE Premier.
Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

Cohen, Sidney. "The "Angel Dust" States: Phencyclidine Toxicity." Pediatrics 64.1
(1979): 17. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Daugherty, Scott. "17-year-old gets 10 years in prison: Teen carjacked man near Arundel
Mills." Capital, The (Annapolis, MD) 12 Mar. 2010: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 11
Nov. 2014.
"DrugFacts: Hallucinogens - LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin, and PCP." National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA). N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.

"Drug Info." Drug Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.

"PCP Drug: Effects, Hazards & Extent of Use - Drugs.com." PCP Drug: Effects,
Hazards & Extent of Use - Drugs.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

"PCP - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids." Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 Nov. 2014.