textfiles/drugs/pcpdrug.txt

                    >>>---> PCP <---<<<


     Angel Dust, Killer Weed, supergrass, crystal cyclone, 
elephant tranquilizer, hog, PeaCe Pill...PCP.  It's a drug 
with many names.  And a bad name.
     It's unpredictable and unpleasant, and yet, people use 
it to get high.

     The  first  time I tried PCP,  I  black  out.   My 
     friends  tried to help me,  but I kept falling and 
     hitting my head.  I couldn't even talk to ask them 
     what happened.   I was confused.   That's what the 
     dust  does  to you.   It was really  bad.   I  got 
     scared.
                      --a 13-year-old girl from Chicago

     Before the drug first caught on in San Francisco in 
1967, advance publicity touted PCP's effects as falling 
somewhere between those of marihuana and LSD.  But many 
early PCP experimenters soon rejected it as a bad drug after 
experiencing some of its frightening effects.
     In spite of its bad name, however, PCP is increasingly 
seen on the street today.  It's cheap and available and 
often masquerades as other popular street drugs.  PCP is 
most often sold as THC (marihuana's active ingredient), a 
drug which is rarely seen on the street.  Many users take 
PCP without knowing what they're taking.  But, for some, PCP 
is a drug of choice.

* IT'S FOR ANIMALS, NOT FOR PEOPLE
  --------------------------------
     Phencyclidine, or PCP, was first synthesized about 20 
years ago.  It was intended to be used as an anesthetic 
agent in human surgery.  But, PCP produced unwanted and 
unpleasant side effects, and experimental studies with hu-
mans were soon discontinued.  Today, its only legal to use 
is in veterinary medicine.
     In spite of this restriction, PCP is easy to get on the 
street.  That's because it's so easy to make.  Using readily 
available chemicals, bootleg laboratories all over the coun-
try are turning out the drug and making an attractive pro-
fit.

IT'S A VERSATILE DRUG
---------------------
     PCP comes in different forms--as a powder, as a tablet, 
or as a capsule in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.  
It can be taken in different ways--it can be smoked, snort-
ed, swallowed, or injected.
     Smoking a joint made of parsley or marihuana sprinkled 
with PCP powder is by far the most popular method.  Users 
find they can control PCP's effects better that way.  But 
smoking too much can cause trouble.

     I smoked so much PCP,  and it was very potent.  It 
     wasn't  supposed  to  be  that  potent.    I  kept 
     smoking, even until I passed out...When I woke up, 
     I thought I could walk, but I couldn't feel myself 
     walking.  My brain felt just like jelly.
                --a 17-year-old girl from Beverly Hills

     Taking the drug in its tablet, capsule, or pure powder 
form usually means getting even larger doses of PCP than 
from smoking it.  But it's not easy to tell how much PCP is 
in a joint or a pill or a capsule.  So often the effects are 
not at all what the user expects.

AND IT'S POTENT
---------------
     PCP is a powerful drug even in small quantities.  But, 
as with all psychoactive (mind-altering) drugs, effects vary 
depending on how much is taken, how it's taken, and who's 
taking it.
     Users often have trouble describing how they feel when 
they smoke PCP.  Most users agree that it's different from 
other drugs.  They say it feels like they're in another 
world--a fantasy world which is sometimes pleasant, some-
times not.  When the high wears off, users often feel mildly 
depressed, irritable, and alienated from their surroundings.
     Larger amounts of the drug can effect users differ-
ently.  They may appear confused and agitated, but at the 
same time they will have a blank, staring expression on 
their faces.  They may look drunk because they're so unco-
ordinated that they have trouble walking.  Their speech is 
often confused, and their vision may be distorted.  Think-
ing, remembering, and making decisions can be very 
difficult.
     Some users may be violent and aggressive, while others 
may be silent, withdrawn, and difficult to communicate with.
     With even higher doses of PCP, users can go into a 
stupor or coma which might last for a few days or several 
weeks.  And massive PCP overdoses can kill.

THERE ARE OTHER DANGERS
-----------------------
     More PCP users die from accidents caused by the strange 
behavior the drug produces in them than from the actual 
chemical effect of the drug itself.  People on PCP have 
drowned in shallow water because they are so disoriented 
they can't tell which way is up.  Others have had auto 
accidents, fallen off of roofs and out of windows because of 
the drug's intoxicating effects.  Some have died in fires 
because PCP made them insensitive to the pain of burning and 
so confused and disoriented that they couldn't escape from 
the flames.
     PCP can produce violent behavior even in people not 
ordinarily prone to such behavior.  These users have been 
known to assault other people or to injure themselves.  
Sometimes the result is murder or suicide.

IT CAN HAVE LONG-TERM EFFECTS
-----------------------------
     Many users who take PCP regularly experience disturban-
ces in memory, judgment, concentration, and perception long 
after they have stopped taking the drug.
     In addition, these long-term users are subject to re-
curring bouts of anxiety and depression.  Sporadic outbreaks 
of violent behavior are common.  In some people, PCP-induced 
psychoses (serious mental disorders) have been reported.

SO WHY DO PEOPLE USE IT?
------------------------
     For one thing many novice drug users don't know what 
they're using.  Sometimes dealers will cut more expensive 
drugs with PCP to increase profits.  So often people who 
think they're getting THC, mescaline, or cocaine are really 
buying PCP.
     Some people take PCP because their friends are taking 
it.  Some take it because they aren't familiar with its 
risks, or else don't believe the bad things they've heard 
about the drug.  And some who know about PCP's dangers take 
it anyway just to prove they can handle it.  Some people, 
however, enjoy the effects PCP has on the and take it by 
choice.  The sense of oblivion, numbness, and unreality, and 
PCP's peculiar distortion of sensation--no matter how un-
pleasant for most people--are appealing to them.  And even 
some users who have had bad experiences with PCP keep on 
taking it.

MAYBE YOU CAN HELP
------------------
     You may know someone who is having trouble with PCP or 
some other drug.  You may be able to help by referring the 
person to a local drug abuse program that can provide the 
kind of treatment he or she needs.
     In a drug abuse emergency, you should seek help at a 
drug crisis center or a hospital emergency room.  If you 
know what drug was taken, tell the emergency treatment 
staff.  It will help them to quickly decide on the proper 
treatment.
     Also, a person in trouble with drugs needs all the 
support and understanding you can give.  And that's another 
way you can really help.
     For more information on PCP or other drugs, write to:
          National Clearinghouse for Drug Abuse Information
          Room 10A-56, Parklawn Building
          5600 Fishers Lane
          Rockville, Maryland 20857

*  Due to the unstable properties of PCP it has now been 
discontinued for veterinary use.

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