The Dawn Of A New Age: PCP

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Term Paper Title	The Dawn Of A New Age: PCP
# of Words	3262
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	13.05

The Dawn of a New Age: PCP

The Dawn of a New Age: PCP

April, 1956 : The pharmaceutical company Parke & Davis first synthesize what
they believe to be the perfect anesthetic (Souza, 1995). When administered to
patients, it causes a completely dissociative state, with no significant
respiratory or cardiovascular depression. Patients appear to be awake, eyes
open, breathing normally.but are unaware of their surroundings or the
procedures being performed upon them (Souza, 1995). Indeed, this is the perfect
drug. Unfortunately, like all good things, this one has a darker side. 15% of
patients awake from their slumber with what appeared to be an acute case of
paranoid schizophrenia (Peterson; Stillman, 1978). The drug is PCP, and to this
day it is the scourge of the underground drug community, and the focal point of
intense scientific research. Parke Davis and Company did not know how terrible,
and wonderful, a discovery they made that day; but our world has been changed
forever because of it.quite possibly for the better.

The Dust of Angels

Phencyclidine, more commonly known as PCP, is a polycyclic compound belonging to
the arylcyclohexylamine class of chemicals [figure 1.0] (Souza 1993). In pure
form, it is a white powder which readily dissolves in water. The cyclohexamines
are known for their the potent neurological effects, with PCP being the most
potent. Almost every variation has been administered to, or abused by, humans
at some time (Nintey Fifth Congress, 1978). All these compounds have similar
pharmacological effects, which vary considerably according to the amount
administered. Small doses produce a `drunken' state, in which subjects report a
numbness in the extremities, while some species (like dogs and cats) become
quite excited (Halberstadt, 1995). Intermediate doses have anesthetic and
analgesic effects , with the psychic state resembling sensory isolation with
one important exception: the sensory impulses (when tested
electrophysiologically) reach the neocortex but "the neuronal signals are
grossly distorted" (Halberstadt, 1995). Large doses, especially of PCP, may
produce convulsions. Any dose produces cataleptoid muscle effects (Halberstadt,
1995). All the chemicals in this class produce a range a physiological effects,
including tachydardia and hypertension (Halberstadt, 1995). Unlike the other
cyclohexamines, however, PCP causes severe "emergence delirium" when taken in
moderate to anesthetic quantities (Halberstadt, 1995). On the othe...

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