Street names for PCP include angel dust, embalming fluid, hog, killer weed, love boat, ozone, peace pill, rocket fuel, super grass, and wack. Individuals may get injured while using the drug and fail to realize it. The drug can also increase the risk of violent behavior. People under the influence of PCP may do things they wouldn’t do while sober, suchas get into fights or hurt others.
Higher doses or frequent use can cause severe depression and anxiety, along with suicidal thoughts and behavior. PCP’s effects generally last from 6 to 24 hours but linger up to around 48 hours in some people. In people with more body fat, effects can come and go or fluctuate over a few days to months. If PCP is smoked, snorted, or injected, you typically begin to feel the effects within 2 to 5 minutes. Experts have found that programs like cognitive behavioral therapy or talk therapy can be effective for substance addiction.
Treatment Options
Glutamate is the brain’s most important chemical for normal brain function, according to the second edition of the textbook Neuroscience. PCP is a synthetic drug made from a combination of chemicals, including potassium cyanide, bromobenzene, ether, and hydrochloric acid. PCP is known by many other names, including horse tranquilizer.
In its purest form, PCP is a white crystalline powder that readily dissolves in water or alcohol and has a distinctive bitter chemical taste. On the illicit drug market, PCP contains a number of contaminants causing the color to range from a light to darker brown with a powdery to a gummy mass consistency. Visit our dedicated hub for more research-backed information and resources on mental health and well-being. Phencyclidine toxicity can lead to severe, long-term complications and death. Symptoms of phencyclidine intoxication may last from several hours to as long as 48 hours.
- Call 911 or local emergency medical services immediately for any symptoms of phencyclidine overdose.
- It also inhibits the action of glutamate by blocking NMDA receptors, which are responsible for pain sensation, emotions, learning, and memory functions.
- People who stop ongoing use of PCP experience drug cravings, increased appetite, headaches, sleepiness, depression, and sweating as common withdrawal symptoms.
- The combo can cause your breathing to become dangerously slow and lead to respiratory arrest or coma.
It may interfere with several other substances and repeated use can cause tolerance and several long-term side effects. Furthermore, taking a large amount can lead to an overdose and could increase the risk of dangerous, aggressive, or violent behavior. If it’s mixed with cannabis, you might hear it called killer joints, fry, lovelies, wets, or waters. At high doses, it can cause a range of serious health issues like seizures, a coma, and possibly death. Users of PCP are often brought to emergency rooms because of the drug’s severe psychological effects and violent or suicidal behaviors. Call 911 or local emergency medical services immediately for any symptoms of phencyclidine overdose.
What Are the Side Effects of PCP?
Smoking is the most common route when used recreationally. The liquid form of PCP is actually PCP base often dissolved in ether, a highly flammable solvent. For smoking, PCP is typically sprayed onto leafy material such as mint, parsley, oregano, or marijuana.
People often dissolve the powder or liquid in alcohol or water. People most often take this drug to chase the high that can make you feel detached from your body. Poor judgment and reasoning skills, psychosis, paranoia, and self-injurious or violent action may occur in those already prone to these behaviors. The person may develop a type of psychosis similar to that seen in schizophrenia. It also inhibits the action of glutamate by blocking NMDA receptors, which are responsible for pain sensation, emotions, learning, and memory functions.
Long-Term Effects of PCP
Psychological effects at high doses include delusions and hallucinations. Users often refer to the experiences from hallucinogens as a "trip", or calling an unpleasant experience a "bad trip." Help and support are available for phencyclidine use disorder. A person can speak with a doctor or salt loading for bromine detox why iodine can change the world another healthcare professional or reach out to a substance use disorder treatment facility. PCP is a dangerous and addictive drug that can have severe long-term effects on the body and mind. While there's no FDA-approved treatment for PCP addiction, the options above can aid in recovery.
During rehab for PCP addiction, health professionals help people overcome withdrawal in a safe environment. Repeated use of PCP can lead to dependency and PCP addiction. After repeated exposure, the brain will depend on PCP to function normally.
What are PCP Withdrawal Symptoms?
Over time, the more you use the drug, the more tolerance you’ll build. This means you’ll need to use higher doses to get the same level of high. If you take more than 20 milligrams at once, it can cause you to overdose and could lead to serious problems like seizures, a coma, or even death. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances. It binds to NMDA receptors, which decreases mood inhibitors called GABA receptors.
Many people use the drug to feel high and to hallucinate. Like other dissociative drugs, PCP can make people feel disconnected from alcohol use disorder diagnosis and treatment the body. Though withdrawal from PCP is not life threatening, it may require treatment from a trained healthcare professional.
It is now a Schedule II controlled substance in the U.S., because it carries a high potential for abuse and may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence. A person may be imprisoned for making, distributing, possessing, and using it. Phencyclidine (PCP) is a mind-altering drug that may lead to hallucinations (a profound distortion in a person’s perception of reality). It is considered a dissociative drug, leading to a distortion of sights, colors, sounds, self, and one's environment.
PCP, also known as phencyclidine and angel dust, was originally developed as a general anesthetic but became a popular substance in the 1960s. It’s listed as a Schedule II drug in the United States, which makes it illegal to possess. In some cases, it’s possible for PCP to cause over-the-top psychological effects that make you feel stronger than you are and engage in violent behavior. This could cause you to physically harm yourself or others.
An individual may use PCP because it produces euphoria, psychedelic effects, and a sense of calm. However, they may experience effects that they do not want. However, because the drug is made illegally in uncontrolled conditions, adhd medication mistakes and dosage myths there is no way of knowing how much is being taken, or what the effect will be. PCP affects multiple neurotransmitter systems in the brain. It inhibits the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
These programs involve participating in individual or group therapy sessions during the day and returning home after each session. Taking PCP (even in low doses) can take a toll on your memory. If you recognize any of these signs in yourself, don’t panic. You have plenty of options for support, which we’ll get to later. The reason for the time difference is how fast the substance enters your bloodstream. When taken orally, your digestive system processes it first, hence the longer onset time.