PCP is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water or alcohol. It has a distinctive bitter chemical taste. PCP can be mixed easily with dyes and turns up on the illicit drug market in a variety of tablets, capsules, and colored powders. It is normally used in one of three ways: snorted, smoked, or eaten. For smoking, PCP is often applied to a leafy material such as mint, parsley, oregano, or marijuana.
Do you smoke this? As a powder it is snorted. When it is in a liquid form, it can be injected and when it is a pill or capsule, it is simply swallowed. The powder form of PCP is often mixed with tobacco, dried parsley or marijuana, and then smoked.
What's gonna happen to me? Like all hallucinogens, PCP has an effect on the mind and the senses. Users can hallucinate, or see and hear things that don't really exist. Hallucinogens also influence emotions and the ability to think clearly. PCP has different effects on different people. It causes some people to feel joy and others can feel nothing but anxiety and panic. In some cases, this panic can lead to violent behavior.
Risks & Realities: PCP is addicting; that is, its use often leads to psychological dependence, craving, and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. It was first introduced as a street drug in the 1960s and quickly gained a reputation as a drug that could cause bad reactions and was not worth the risk. Many people, after using the drug once, will not knowingly use it again. Yet others use it consistently and regularly. Some persist in using PCP because of its addicting properties. Others cite feelings of strength, power, invulnerability and a numbing effect on the mind as reasons for their continued PCP use.
Many PCP users are brought to emergency rooms because of PCP's unpleasant psychological effects or because of overdoses. In a hospital or detention setting, they often become violent or suicidal, and are very dangerous to themselves and to others. They should be kept in a calm setting and should not be left alone.
Fast facts about effects on the body: PCP produces many changes in the body including faster breathing and an increased heart rate. It also increases body temperature and can lead to numbness in the legs and arms.
Higher doses can produce a quick drop in blood pressure, vomiting, blurred vision, dizziness and an inability to feel pain
Do you smoke this? As a powder it is snorted. When it is in a liquid form, it can be injected and when it is a pill or capsule, it is simply swallowed. The powder form of PCP is often mixed with tobacco, dried parsley or marijuana, and then smoked.
What's gonna happen to me? Like all hallucinogens, PCP has an effect on the mind and the senses. Users can hallucinate, or see and hear things that don't really exist. Hallucinogens also influence emotions and the ability to think clearly. PCP has different effects on different people. It causes some people to feel joy and others can feel nothing but anxiety and panic. In some cases, this panic can lead to violent behavior.
Risks & Realities: PCP is addicting; that is, its use often leads to psychological dependence, craving, and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. It was first introduced as a street drug in the 1960s and quickly gained a reputation as a drug that could cause bad reactions and was not worth the risk. Many people, after using the drug once, will not knowingly use it again. Yet others use it consistently and regularly. Some persist in using PCP because of its addicting properties. Others cite feelings of strength, power, invulnerability and a numbing effect on the mind as reasons for their continued PCP use.
Many PCP users are brought to emergency rooms because of PCP's unpleasant psychological effects or because of overdoses. In a hospital or detention setting, they often become violent or suicidal, and are very dangerous to themselves and to others. They should be kept in a calm setting and should not be left alone.
Fast facts about effects on the body: PCP produces many changes in the body including faster breathing and an increased heart rate. It also increases body temperature and can lead to numbness in the legs and arms.
Higher doses can produce a quick drop in blood pressure, vomiting, blurred vision, dizziness and an inability to feel pain
