What are the effects of recreational PCP use?

Many believe PCP to be one of the most dangerous drugs of abuse. A moderate amount of PCP often causes users to feel detached, distant, and estranged from their surroundings.

• Numbness of the extremities, slurred speech, and loss of coordination may be accompanied by a sense of strength and invulnerability.
• A blank stare, rapid and involuntary eye movements, and an exaggerated gait are among the more observable effects.
• Auditory hallucinations, image distortion, severe mood disorders, and amnesia may also occur.
• Acute anxiety and a feeling of impending doom, paranoia, violent hostility, a psychoses indistinguishable from schizophrenia.

Physiological effects of low to moderate doses of PCP include:

• slight increase in breathing rate
• rise in blood pressure and pulse rate
• shallow respiration
• flushing and profuse sweating occurs.

Physiological effects of high doses of PCP include:

• a drop in blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiration.
• nausea, vomiting
• blurred vision
• flicking up and down of the eyes
• drooling
• loss of balance and dizziness
• violence, suicide

High doses of PCP can also cause seizures, coma, and death (often due to accidental injury or suicide during PCP intoxication). Psychological effects at high doses include delusions and hallucinations. Users often refer to the experiences from hallucinogens as a “trip”, or calling an unpleasant experience a “bad trip.”