What is PCP?
PCP, or phencyclidine (fen-sai-kluh-deen), is a hallucinogen that also works as a stimulant, painkiller, or anesthetic depending on how much was consumed. It affects your brain and central nervous system, and can affect your mood, behavior, and even what you see and experience around you. It can cause feelings of strength and invulnerability, and even lead to violence.
PCP drugs have no legal medical usage as that was discontinued in 1965. It's now illegal in the United States, although it's still readily available.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency,
PCP is most commonly sold in powder and liquid forms, so it can easily be added to alcohol or water. It is also available in crystal, tablet, and capsule forms. Tablets sold as MDMA (Ecstasy) occasionally contain PCP.
In any of these forms, the drug can be inhaled through the nose, injected, smoked, or swallowed. Smoking is actually the most common method of injecting PCP, such as rolling leafy material — mint, parsley, marijuana — that has been saturated with the liquid form. Marijuana cigarettes that are dipped into liquid PCP are known as "dippers."
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Common names for PCP
PCP street names include, Angel dust, angel hair, boat, dipper, embalming fluid, hog, love boat, ozone, peace pill, rocket fuel, shermans, supergrass, Tic Tac, wack, zoom.
What are the Effects of PCP?
PCP was originally intended for use in the 1950s as an anesthetic to be used during surgeries. However, it was discontinued in the 1960s because of its hallucinogenic side effects. That means the effects are usually ones of sedation, unconsciousness, and hallucinations.
PCP Short-Term Side Effects
Hallucinations, especially distortions of light and sound
Sedation/sleep
Amnesia
Detachment from reality
Distorted thinking
Slurred speech
Increased heart and breath rates
Loss of motor control
Feelings of strength and invulnerability
Violence
Users may hallucinate while on the drug but injure themselves because they don't feel any pain due to the pain-killing effects of PCP. They can do themselves serious injury as a result.
PCP Long-Term Effects
Physical dependency
Impaired memory
Impaired thinking
Persistent speech difficulties such as a stutter
Suicidal thoughts
Anxiety, possible overdose for PCP and depression.
PCP Drug Test Overview
Testing for PCP in urine one of the required drug tests by the U.S. Department of Transportation and it's one of the 17 drugs we test for in our 17-drug test panel. Other PCP drug testing methods include hair, blood and oral saliva testing.
Types of drug testing used to detect PCP
We can test for phencyclidine through a person's urine, hair, and saliva.
- Hair PCP drug tests can show usage five to ten days after it was ingested and up to 90 days afterward.
- Saliva PCP drug tests can show results within five to ten minutes and for three days after.
- Urine PCP drug tests will show results after about five hours of ingestion and up to 14 days afterward.
US DEA/DOJ Statistics and relevant information re: enforcement, prosecutions, and addiction related info
PCP is a Schedule II drug, which also includes cocaine and methamphetamine. That also means it's highly addictive and can lead to physical and psychological dependence.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 6.1 million people 12 years and older had tried PCP at least once — 2.4% of the total number of people in that demographic.
The drug is predominantly used by teenagers and young adults.
Being arrested for possessing PCP can be anywhere from a three-year sentence and $50,000 fine to seven years' imprisonment and a $100,000 fine.
