Introduction
The Phencyclidine is a recreational drug that is also called PCP and Angle dust. According to research, it shows that the drug came to the market as early as the 1950s. It has been stated that it belongs to the dissociative anesthetic. In to the records, it shows that in 1965 the drug was removed from the market because of the effects that it contains. The effects came from the number of reports that was stated by the users of the drugs about what was happening to their bodies. The drug was mainly used for anesthetic purposes in order for the patient’s pain to be numbed. The PCP drug has been stated that it contains many negative effects for the users such as it causes addiction and psychotic episodes. PCP drug after it as abolished in the 1960s it was left only to be used in the veterinary department for animals (Sharp & Graeven, 1981). When PCP is on its natural state it is said to be white crystal powder form. In this form, it is easy for the drug to be dissolved in water. When it is on the illicit drug illicit form the drug is claimed to be added many contaminants that will change the color of the drug to dark brown. This can be formed to capsules, colored powder and tablets. There is also the PCP drug that is in liquid form. This is stated to be highly flammable solvent.
Effects of PCP
There are many effects that have been found after using the PCP drugs. According to the reports, it shows that the drugs affect social classes and the body. These effects are what have caused many medical practitioners and the government to worry for the users. this is the reason why many people need to be educated on the effects of PCP.
The body
There are a number of effects that a person feels after using the drug. Some of the effects are physiological while others are psychological effects. Most of the effects that have emerged because of using the drugs are what has caused the ban of using the drugs and many health practitioners are worried about the trend of the usage of the drugs or the effects it will have on the body (Suzuki, 2002).
The physiological effects
The immediate effects that a person feels in the body are that there breathing is stated to increase in rate, the pulse rate also increases and their blood pressure also increases. The other immediate physical effect that occurs is that they start flushing, and have an increase in sweating. The other common effects of the drug use are that the person starts having bizarre posture, their coordination movement is impaired and myoclonic jerks (Sharp & Graeven, 1981). They start feeling estranged, have slurred speech, feel numbness, invulnerability, increases sense of strength, detached, loss of coordination and distant from other people. According to the health practitioners it has been claimed when the drugs are used in high dosages it will cause the person to have blurred vision, starts drooling, dizziness, nausea, loss of balance. Other severe effects are that it leads to coma, seizures and even sometimes death after a higher dosage.
Mental effects or hallucinogen effects
The drugs are well known to cause psychotic episodes for the user of the drugs. More severe problems is that it causes anxiety attacks for the drug user in that they will have hallucination of bad things that might occur, change of perception, change in thoughts and distortion of events that occurred to them. This hallucination might cause the individual to have schizophrenia or other psychosis disorders. The people who use PCP are well known to be very aggressive and hat they seem not to fear any pain. The police officers who have arrested some of the drugs users have stated this fact. there have been some claims that some of the effects of the drugs is that it causes amnesia to the people in that they will loss memory of who they are or where they are (Sharp & Graeven, 1981). When a person has just used the drugs they are bound to feel really hot in that they will start to shade their clothes in order to attempt to cool themselves from the heat. This removal of clothes could happen at any place.
Addiction
One of the worst effects of the drugs to the body is that it causes a person to be very addicted to it. In the 1980s, that is when there was an increase of cases of people who were addicted to the drugs. The bad reputation of it causing addictions made some people to fear the drug. This caused the reduction in usage of the drug in the early 1900s. This however has changed in the 21st century where more and more cases of people who are using the drugs and are addicted to it have been reported.
The popularity of the drugs has increased dramatically from 2012 (Press, 2014. The PCP drugs have been categorized as one of the most used club drugs together with Ecstasy, rohyphol, ketamine and LSD. These drugs have been proven to be highly addictive to the person using them. The addiction will cause the person to depend on the drugs and thus they cannot live without using the drugs. This causes the person always to go back to the drug dealers to get the drugs and thus they will do absolutely anything in order to get their fix. The more the person uses the drugs the more the person’s life gets in danger. It is highly recommended that when a person is believed to be having the addiction of these drugs to be taken to any rehab program facility in order to get help.
Social classes’ effects
According to the history of PCP, it shows that the people who used the drugs more often in the 1980s were from the gangs especially the biker gangs (Deeney, 2011). The negative press that came from the effects that were observed from the gangs in the media made many people to fear the drug. The fact that the drug has increased in the number of users in the recent years is that the young teenagers from high schools and young adults are the ones who are abusing the drugs most oftenly. The youths are claimed to have come from the poor class. The reason for stating this is that the drugs are well known to being sold with the crack cocaine in the poor neighborhood. There are some instances where in the rich neighborhood they are being sold but rarely. In the poor neighborhood, it is easy to get any kind of drugs being sold by the street gangs and in the clubs.
One of the most notable areas where the drug is being sold and used by the residents is in Badland Philadelphia. The increase in the usage of the PCP drugs has caused some neighborhood to be dangerous to live in (Deeney, 2011). The reason for saying this is because of the increase in insecurity from the drug users as well as the drug traffickers or sellers. This regions have been reported with gunshots been fired in the region aimlessly. The drug users have turned into thieves in order to find money to pay for their fix of PCP. There was a research that was conducted in Washington DC on 2010 by the national institute of adults. The findings they got from the research are that ten percent of the adults in the region were found to have used the substance. These adults are said to have used the drugs in the 1970s. In the 1970s, the people who were using the drugs came from different backgrounds therefore, it cannot be pinpointed that one social class used the drugs more than the other did.
In conclusion, the PCP drugs are well known to be highly addictive and dangerous drugs for people. It has been stated that when the drug is taken in large quantities it might lead to death or causes someone to be in a coma. According to most researchers, teenagers and young adults who come from the poor neighborhood mostly use the drugs. This is because the drugs are easy to access. The drug’s effects are that it causes a person to hallucinate and thus sees things that might not be real. The hallucinations might lead to permanent damage in that the person might become schizophrenic.
Reference
Deeney, J. (2011). The New Rise of PCP. The Washington Post.
Press, A. (2014, December 4). Salina doctor compares potpourri effects with PCP. Retrieved from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/4/salina-doctor-compares-potpourri-effects-with-pcp/
Sharp, J. G., & Graeven, D. B. (1981). The Social, Behavioral, and Health Effects of Phencyclidine (PCP) Use. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Suzuki, Y. (2002). Acute administration of phencyclidine induces tonic activation of medial prefrontal cortex neurons in freely moving rats. Neuroscience.
