Phencyclidine (PCP) abuse. A close-up look at a growing problem.

PCP (phencyclidine, or 'angel dust') is a dissociative anesthetic commonly abused across various subcultures in the United States, including California's psychedelic scene, the East Coast, and Midwestern suburbs. Acute intoxication can lead to extreme behaviors such as murder of one's own children or jumping from high-rise buildings, and even brief use can trigger florid psychosis lasting days. Inadvertently administering narcotics or barbiturates to patients with acute PCP intoxication may cause a fatal crisis. Clinicians must become familiar with the drug and its effects to manage these emergencies.

Study at a glance

Abstract

PCP or "angel dust" is a dissociative anesthetic agent with notoriety as an abuse substance. Numerous members of many subcultures are frequent users of this drug. It is well known in California's psychedelia, along the East Coast, and in the middle- and working-class suburbs of the Midwest. It is important that practitioners become acquainted with the drug and its effects. Persons intoxicated with PCP have murdered their own children and have even jumped out of high-rise apartment buildings. States of florid psychosis lasting for days can follow a brief encounter with PCP. Inadvertent administration of narcotics and barbiturates to patients with acute PCP intoxication can lead to a crisis that could prove to be fatal.