PCP:PCP and its Affects on the Human Body
PCP or Phencyclidine is a very deadly drug in today’s society. PCP was developed in the 1950’s as an 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 effects. PCP is illegally manufactured in laboratories and is sold on the street by such names as “diabolic” “wet” and “digital”. The variety of street names for PCP reflects its bizarre and irrational effects on those who use it. (Andersen)
PCP can be mixed easily with dyes and turns up on the illegal drug markets in a variety of tablets, capsules, and colored powders. PCP can be taken in multiple ways, it can either be smoked, snorted, or eaten. For smoking, PCP is usually mixed with marijuana.
PCP use often leads to psychological dependence, craving, and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. It was first discovered as a street drug in the 1960s and quickly gained a reputation as a drug that could cause bad reactions in its users. Some continue in using PCP because of its addicting properties. Others say its the feelings of strength, power, invulnerability and a numbing effect on the mind as reasons for their continued PCP use. (Andersen)
Many PCP users are brought to emergency rooms because of PCP's bad psychological effects or because of overdoses. In a hospital they often become violent or suicidal, and are very dangerous to themselves and people around them. At a low dose, 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. Numbness of the extremities may also occur.
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Psychological effects include distinct changes in body awareness, similar to those associated with alcohol. (www.nida.com)
At high doses of PCP, there is a drop in blood pressure, pulse rate, and breathing. This may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, rolling of the eyes, and dizziness. High doses of PCP can also cause seizures, coma, and death. Psychological effects at high doses include 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 slurred or distorted to the point of no understanding. (www.nida.com)
People who use PCP for a long time suffer from memory loss, difficulties with speech and thinking, depression, and weight loss.
When this happens, the heart is affected, induced to speed up the beating process and eventually will stop beating altogether. The dangerous part about these substances is that they affect younger teens in different ways. They cause more damage to the still developing bodies of these kids and can cause affects lasting later in life including damage to important organs such as the brain and studies also show girls being more affected than boys. Memory can be one of the biggest detriments. Sometimes tolerance is not an option however withdrawal symptoms can develop for people trying to stop use because it is both a physical and psychological
United States. National Institute on Drug Abuse.DrugFacts: Hallucinogens - LSD, Peyote, Psilocybin, and PCP. 2009. Non-print. .
At first, the victim will feel a burning or tingling sensation on their lips, tongue, and in their limbs. This is then followed by sweating, headaches, weakness, lethargy, incoordination, tremors, paralysis, cyanosis, aphonia, dysphasia, and seizures. Later the victim will experience severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. As the poison sits in the body, the victim will experience respiratory issues and will have trouble breathing and speaking. They will experience a lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, a lower pulse, and heart rate. The victim will most-likely become completely paralyzed but usually remains conscious and lucid for 4 to 6 hours; although, some victims will end up in a
When Genie was found, she was thirteen years old, and was presumed to have been in her home since she was around the age of two. She had either been strapped to a child’s toilet, or tied to her bed with complete immobilization during this time, also never being shown any speech—never truly giving her a language to speak. It was discovered, that Genie’s father seemed to be the reason she was locked away (Newton). Although Genie was born through a C-Section, she had little to no problems at birth. She was born a normal healthy little girl. Her medical records all showed that she was growing at a normal rate. Doctor reports are stating that around about a year, Genie was alert and able to sit by herself, but was falling behind in her weight category. Researchers later discovered this may have been the beginning of the malnutrition. There was a problem that was later discovered, requiring Genie to wear a brace on her leg, slowing down the time she learned to walk. Psychologists believe it was this instance that led Genie’s father to believe she was mentally challenged. It is also shown that because of these thoughts, Genie’s father felt it was necessary to hide Genie from the public—whether because of embarrassment or protection. Most researchers will speculate that Genie’s father was a...
Extreme gasping and muscle spasms can occur. While losing consciousness, a person can vomit and then inhale the vomit. Panic, feelings of terror and assaultive behavior take place from the drug-induced confusion. Other problems can include difficulty in taking the drugs, failure of the drugs to induce unconsciousness and a number of days elapsing before death occurs. (NEJM)
People smoke marijuana in water pipes, bongs, hand rolled cigarettes or even mix it with food which are called edibles. 1. THC is an extract from marijuana which is dangerous for people. a) THC acts on specific brain cells which makes the person hallucinate and have abnormal brain behavior and function. 2.
Addiction is a term that has traditionally been used to refer to psychiatric syndrome that is caused by illicit drug use. Actually, addition is the only psychiatric condition whose symptoms are regarded as an illegal activity. In most cases, this term is described on the basis of drug use, which is the main focus of many research and treatment programs. Generally, drug addiction has significant negative effects on individuals using the drug and those around them such as family and friends. Family and friends are usually forced to watch their loved ones wilt away in illicit drug use. While addiction has traditionally been regarded as a psychiatric condition, there are numerous debates that have emerged on whether it’s a disease or merely an immoral act by a selfish individual. My standpoint is that addiction is actually a disease because of the observations I have made on how illicit drug use takes control of the addict. I have watched my brother battle prescription drug addiction and eventually passed away from an overdose at the age of thirty-two years. As a result, I believe that addiction is a disease because it changes the functioning of the addict’s brain. In essence, studies have demonstrated the effects of chemical substances on the brain and how addiction affects feelings, thoughts, and actions.
“… There is a feeling of strange intoxication and shifting consciousness with minor perceptual changes. There may also be strong physical effects, including respiratory pressure, muscle tension (especially face and neck muscles), and queasiness or possible nausea… After this the state of altered consciousness begins to manifest itself…..among the possible occurences are feelings of inner tranquility, oneness with life, heightened awareness, and rapid thought flow…these effects will deepen and become more visual. Colors may become more intense. Halos and auras may appear about things. Objects
One particular research that caught my eye was the discovery that the toxin MPTP, which was a chemical in a special mix of heroin in the 1980’s, was causing the same symptoms of PD in its users. ...
On November 4, 1970 in Los Angeles, California Genie’s condition was brought to attention by a social worker. The worker discovered the 13-year old girl in a small, dimly lit, confined bedroom. An investigation by authorities exposed that the child had spent most of her life in this room and typically was tied to a potty chair. Genie was found in diapers because she was not potty trained. Her case is an example of extreme isolation from human contact, society, sunlight, and any other environments besides her room. The deprivation of attachment showed when she was timid to humans, almost afraid. Someone whose life was a developmental nightmare could not possibly be expected to have the basic trust that the world is trustworthy and predictable. The life she lived was incredibly horrifying as morals, and psychology portray just how severe the consequences were on Genie.
Genie’s abuse and social isolation was mainly a result of her father’s decision and justification that Genie was severely mentally retarded and believed hiding her from the world was the best option for everyone (Curtiss, 1988). The only visual stimuli that Genie could interact with were her potty chair, crib, carpet, and plain empty walls. Genie’s severe neglect and abuse in her childhood ultimately lead her t...
Without contrast, the primary reason for drug abuse in individuals comes from the conscious state of addiction. According to Webster’s, addiction is described as “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity (Hacker, 2011).” Sure, human nature’s desire to conform to peer pressure might cause one to first try a certain drug, but the euphoric mental states found in drugs mentally trap many individuals into becoming dependent upon these sensations. With that being said, these sensations vary depending on the type of drug used.
Abuse can cause countless medical problems to the body. A person who is addicted will continue to stimulate themselves regardless if they are aware of the negative chain reactions. Once addicted, it becomes difficult to stop due to how the body has become dependent. Health will be harmed the more a stimulant is used. Health effects include: cardiovascular disease, strokes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, lung disease, mental disease, birth defects. Mental health is what keeps a person in the right mind to make better decisions and have better control in life. Drugs have the ability to change mood and behavior. If drugs have affected the brain already, the desire increases which changes mental health. Some may not realize that they have been affected their health negatively. “A person who abuses drugs may not realize they have a problem until pronounced effects of drug abuse are seen, often physically. While drug abuse effects on the body vary depending on the drug used, all drug abuse negatively impacts one 's health (Addictions Community). Since drugs create many health issues, treatment is not a simple task. Treatments are hard to obtain and addictions often go
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.