Nobody ever intends to become addicted to alcohol or drugs. After experimenting with substance abuse and enjoying the feeling of intoxication that occurred, many people begin to escalate their substance abuse, needing more and more of a substance more frequently so as to continue enjoying recreational intoxication. But it’s a very slippery slope.
Over the past century, addiction rates have grown to epidemic-level proportions, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And not only have rates of addiction continued to grow, but there are also many more substances that are abused today than in years past. It seems like every day there’s some new substance that’s found to have recreational value. In many cases, these substances are actually quite dangerous, putting users’ well-being and lives in jeopardy.
For instance, recently bath salts have become a popular drug of abuse, resulting in a number of incidents of users becoming extremely volatile and violent. Many of these individuals went on to cause harm to a number of bystanders while under the influence. But bath salts isn’t the only such drug that has great potential for danger.
What Exactly Is PCP?
Experimentation with various substances has been conducted for many years. In many cases, the substances were experimented on for the purpose of finding drugs that were better and more effective for use in surgeries. In particular, opium and its many derivatives were experimented upon for many years, resulting in morphine, codeine, and numerous pharmaceutical substances like oxycodone and hydrocodone. However, opioid drugs aren’t the only form of pharmaceutical substances that were developed through experimentation. One such drug that resulted from pharmaceutical experimentation is known on the street as “angel dust”, or PCP.
Phencyclidine (PCP) was created to be a powerful anesthetic that could be used during surgical procedures. The drug worked on receptors in nerve cells that are likewise targeted by certain other drugs, particularly dextromethorphan—also known as DXM, which is a unique substance commonly found on cough medicines like Robitussin and NyQuil, and which has dissociative properties as well as conflicting sedative and stimulant properties at high doses. Likewise, PCP was developed and released in the 1950s and after a brief period of medical use, it was taken off the market due the frequency with which it caused dissociative and hallucinogenic properties in people who used the drug. By the 1960s, PCP emerged as a substance that was highly prone to abuse as well as addiction. However, due to the drug’s very unique—and many would say unpleasant—effects, PCP use declined sharply in the 1980s and has remained relatively low, albeit constant, in the years since.
Effects Of PCP Use
There are a number of specific effects that result from PCP use, but these effects can be relatively subtle as lower dosages. At very low doses, the effects are largely physical with most users experiencing a numbness and tingling in the limbs and extremities, causing them to have difficulty with their movements and coordination; at this level of dosage, users can be seen staggering with a very unsteady gait, exhibit slurred speech, lack of balance, and bloodshot eyes. Moderate-level doses produce a more pronounced analgesia, or pain relief, as well as a level of anesthesia.
PCP becomes markedly more dangerous when taken at higher doses, especially since it can cause a person to suffer from involuntary convulsions. To make matter worse, users of PCP usually have very little control of the amount of the drug they’re consuming since the PCP sold on the street is almost exclusively produced illegally, which means that the drug has varying levels of strength and adulterants that might dilute the drug. In terms of the psychological effects, PCP causes a distorted perception that results in a change in body image, depersonalization, and severe paranoia. There’s a slight sense of euphoria, but the hallucinations that accompany PCP use are one of the more pronounced and well-known effects of the drug. In some cases, PCP has been known to cause suicidal impulses or unprovoked, violent or aggressive behaviors. Some have described PCP’s intoxication as being very much like a psychotic or schizophrenic state.
As the drug’s effects peak, users experienced confusion, inability to think clearly, and inhibited memory, each of which can exacerbate the severity of many of the other effects. The effects of PCP are often described as a “snowball effect”, continuing to get worse and worse before the drug’s effects finally begin to subside. In addition to the extreme effects of the drug, the dramatic increase in body temperature, racing heart, increase in blood pressure, damage to kidneys, and shallow breathing have been known to occur and cause either coma or death.
Is PCP Addictive
Users who abuse PCP can administer the drug orally, intravenously, intramuscularly, via smoking or insufflation through the nose, of through a number of other means. It’s been difficult trying to figure out how or why PCP is addictive because its effects cancel out aspects of the rewarding and reinforcing nature of the euphoria it offers. However, its effects on the nucleus accumbens is what is believed to drive the drug’s addictive nature as shown in experiments with both rates and observations of human PCP users. Fortunately, one can overcome PCP addiction via a PCP addiction treatment program. Abruptly ceasing PCP use has been known to be potentially dangerous, which is why most PCP treatment programs offer benzodiazepines to patients in order to mitigate some of the discomfort and potential dangers of withdrawal.
Choose Life By Calling Drug Treatment Center Finder Today
Although PCP is addictive and highly dangerous, nobody who’s addicted to PHP must continue to live in the throes of active addiction. If you or someone you love would benefit from a free consultation with one of our recovery specialists, call Drug Treatment Center Finder today. We’re available anytime, day or night, to help you or your loved one begin the recovery journey. Don’t wait another day; one phone call is all it takes to take the first steps toward a long life of lasting health, happiness, and sobriety.