Signs of Use:

Possible mood and perception alteration, paranoia, panic, anxiety, suicidal urge

Physical Symptoms:

Increased pulse and heart rate, blood pressure and temperature, nausea, tremors

Dangers:

Unpredictable behavior, flashbacks, possible emotional instability and psychosis, hallucinations

Phencyclidine:

Further Information

PCP (phencyclidine) is classified as a hallucinogen and has many of the same effects as LSD, but can be much more dangerous. In the 1950's, PCP was investigated as an anesthetic, but due to its severe side effects, its development for human use was discontinued. PCP is known for inducing violent behavior and for inducing negative physical reactions such as seizures, coma, death. There is no way to predict who will have a bad reaction to the drug. Maybe this is because PCP has so many faces--it acts as a hallucinogen, stimulant, depressant, and anesthetic---all at the same time.

In its original state, PCP is a white crystalline powder. PCP is available in tablet, liquid, and powder forms and is either ingested orally or smoked by applying the liquid form to tobacco or marijuana cigarettes or by lacing these and other cigarettes, sometimes containing herbs such as mint or parsley, with PCP powder.

STREET TERMS:
include Wet, Illy, Angel Dust, Supergrass, Killer Weed, Embalming Fluid, Rocket Fuel, Hog, Wack, Squeeze, Water, Dust, Oxone, Zoot, Peace Pill, and Elephant tranquilizer. Killer Joints, and Crystal Supergrass are names for the combination of marijuana laced with PCP. "Smoking wet" and "wetting it up" are two terms for smoking cigarettes or joints dipped in PCP. PCP is known as Space Base when mixed with Crack.

EFFECTS OF USE:
A moderate amount of PCP often causes the user to feel detached, distant and estranged from his surroundings. Numbness, slurred speech and loss of coordination may be accompanied by a sense of strength and invulnerability. A blank stare, rapid and involuntary eye movements, and an exaggerated gait are among the more observable effects. Auditory hallucinations, image distortion, severe mood disorders, and amnesia may also occur. In some users, PCP may cause acute anxiety and a feeling of impending doom, in others paranoia and violent hostility, and in some it may produce a psychoses indistinguishable from schizophrenia. PCP use is associated with a number of risks and many believe it to be one of the most dangerous drugs of abuse.