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Hallucinogens... |
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Other
hallucinogens
PCP
(Angel
dust)

PCP is
possibly the most dangerous of the hallucinogens and can lead to very violent
behavior.
Fatal
falls, drownings, and other injuries related to accidents involving cars, guns
and other instruments have been attributed to PCP.
PCP can
also lead to convulsions, coma, and death. PCP is believed to not only
lead to violent behavior but also give the user an extreme strength and/or
tolerance to pain thus making their behavior even more reckless.
PCP
(phencyclidine) was developed in the 1950s as an intravenous anesthetic. Use of
PCP in humans was discontinued in 1965, because it was found that patients often
became agitated, delusional, and irrational while recovering from its anesthetic
effects. PCP is illegally manufactured in laboratories and is sold on the street
by such names as "angel dust," "ozone," "wack,"
and "rocket fuel." "Killer joints"and "crystal
supergrass" are names that refer to PCP combined with marijuana. The
variety of street names for PCP reflects its bizarre and volatile effects.
PCP is a
white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water or alcohol. It has a
distinctive bitter chemical taste. PCP can be mixed easily with dyes and turns
up on the illicit drug market in a variety of tablets, capsules, and colored
powders. It is normally used in one of three ways: snorted, smoked, or eaten.
For smoking, PCP is often applied to a leafy material such as mint, parsley,
oregano, or marijuana.
Health
Hazards
PCP is
addicting; that is, its use often leads to psychological dependence, craving,
and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. It was first introduced as a street drug in
the 1960s and quickly gained a reputation as a drug that could cause bad
reactions and was not worth the risk. Many people, after using the drug once,
will not knowingly use it again. Yet others use it consistently and regularly.
Some persist in using PCP because of its addicting properties. Others cite
feelings of strength, power, invulnerability and a numbing effect on the mind as
reasons for their continued PCP use.
Many PCP
users are brought to emergency rooms because of PCP's unpleasant psychological
effects or because of overdoses. In a hospital or detention setting, they often
become violent or suicidal, and are very dangerous to themselves and to others.
They should be kept in a calm setting and should not be left alone.
At low to
moderate doses, physiological effects of PCP include a slight increase in
breathing rate and a more pronounced rise in blood pressure and pulse rate.
Respiration becomes shallow, and flushing and profuse sweating occur.
Generalized numbness of the extremities and muscular incoordination also may
occur. Psychological effects include distinct changes in body awareness, similar
to those associated with alcohol intoxication. Use of PCP among adolescents may
interfere with hormones related to normal growth and development as well as with
the learning process.
At high
doses of PCP, there is a drop in blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration.
This may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, flicking up and
down of the eyes, drooling, loss of balance, and dizziness. High doses of PCP
can also cause seizures, coma, and death (though death more often results from
accidental injury or suicide during PCP intoxication). Psychological effects at
high doses include illusions and hallucinations. PCP can cause effects that
mimic the full range of symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions, paranoia,
disordered thinking, a sensation of distance from one's environment, and
catatonia. Speech is often sparse and garbled.
People who
use PCP for long periods report memory loss, difficulties with speech and
thinking, depression, and weight loss. These symptoms can persist up to a year
after cessation of PCP use. Mood disorders also have been reported. PCP has
sedative effects, and interactions with other central nervous system
depressants, such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, can lead to coma or accidental
overdose.
MESCALINE
(MESC,
BOTTONS, CACTUS)
Overdoses
with this drug can cause serious deviance from reality and death may result.
Rise in blood pressure, visual and auditory distortions also occur.
PSILCYBIN
(MUSHROOMS,
SHROOMS ETC.)

Effects
are similar to mescaline's. Users are sometimes sold fake mushrooms, those
bought at a store and treated with other chemicals. Users can be sometimes
sold wild poisonous mushrooms too.
What
is it?
Peyote is a small, spineless cactus, Lophophora williamsii, whose principal
active ingredient is the hallucinogen mescaline. From earliest recorded time,
peyote has been used by natives in northern Mexico and the southwestern United
States as a part of traditional religious rites. Mescaline can be extracted from
peyote or produced synthetically.
What
does it look like?
The top of the cactus above ground--also referred to as the crown--consists of
disc-shaped buttons that are cut from the roots and dried. These buttons are
generally chewed or soaked in water to produce an intoxicating liquid.
What
are its short-term effects?
The hallucinogenic dose for mescaline is about 0.3 to 0.5 grams (equivalent to
about 5 grams of dried peyote) and lasts about 12 hours.