The "Angel Dust" States: Phencyclidine Toxicity
Pediatrics in Review July 1, 1979 S. Cohen 5 citations
Phencyclidine (PCP), originally developed as a human anesthetic but abandoned due to severe emergence deliriums, is now used as a veterinary anesthetic and has become a common street drug of abuse, especially among young people. Its abuse is associated with multiple clinical states, aggressive behavior, and management challenges. During the late 1960s it was sold as a substitute for mescaline, psilocybin, or tetrahydrocannabinol and used as an adulterant for hallucinogens. In recent years it has become a preferred substance and the most widely available hallucinogen, typically consumed as part of a polydrug abuse pattern with alcohol, sedatives, and marijuana.