Drug Information: P
Paraldehyde (Paral®) | Pentazocine (Talwin®) | Peyote & Mescaline | Phencyclidine (PCP) | Predatory Drugs | Psilocybin & Psilocyn & other Tryptamines

Paraldehyde
Paraldehyde (Paral®) is a Schedule IV depressant used most frequently in hospital settings to treat delirium tremens associated with alcohol withdrawal. Many individuals who become addicted to paraldehyde have been initially exposed during treatment for alcoholism and, despite the disagreeable odor and taste, come to prefer it to alcohol. This drug is not used by injection because of tissue damage, and taken orally, it can be irritating to the throat and stomach. One of the signs of paraldehyde use is a strong, characteristic smell to the breath.

Pentazocine
The effort to find an effective analgesic with less dependence-producing consequences led to the development of pentazocine (Talwin®). Introduced as an analgesic in 1967, it was frequently encountered in the illicit trade, usually in combination with tripelennamine and placed into Schedule IV of the CSA in 1979. An attempt at reducing the abuse of this drug was made with the introduction of Talwin Nx®. This product contains a quantity of antagonist (naloxone) sufficient to counteract the morphine-like effects of pentazocine if the tablets are dissolved and injected.

Peyote & Mescaline
Peyote is a small, spineless cactus, Lophophora williamsii, whose principal active ingredient is the hallucinogen mescaline (3, 4, 5-trimethoxyphenethylamine). From earliest recorded time, peyote has been used by natives in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States as a part of their religious rites.

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. The hallucinogenic dose of mescaline is about 0.3 to 0.5 grams and lasts about 12 hours. While peyote produced rich visual hallucinations that were important to the native peyote cults, the full spectrum of effects served as a chemically induced model of mental illness. Mescaline can be extracted from peyote or produced synthetically. Both peyote and mescaline are listed in the CSA as Schedule I hallucinogens.

Phencyclidine (PCP)
Street terms for phencyclidine: PCP, Angel Dust, Supergrass, Killer Weed, Embalming Fluid, Rocket Fuel i, wack, ozone ii

What does phencyclidine look like?

  • In its pure form, PCP is a white crystalline powder that readily dissolves in water; however, most PCP on the street contains a number of contaminates causing the color to range from tan to brown, with a consistency ranging from powder to a gummy mass.
  • PCP is most commonly sold as a powder or liquid.
  • PCP may also come in tablet or capsule form.iii

How is phencyclidine used?

  • PCP may be snorted, smoked, injected, or swallowed.iv
  • PCP is most commonly sold as a powder or liquid, and applied to a leafy material such as oregano, parsley, mint, or marijuana and then smoked. v

What are some consequences of phencyclidine use?

  • Numbness, slurred speech, loss of coordination, rapid and involuntary eye movements
  • Auditory hallucinations, image distortion, severe mood disorders, amnesia,
  • In some users PCP use may result in acute anxiety, a feeling of impending doom, paranoia, violent hostility, and in some it may produce a psychoses indistinguishable from schizophrenia.
  • PCP use is associated with a number of risks and many believe it to be one of the most dangerous drugs of abuse. vi

How does phencyclidine get to the United States?

  • Originally designed as a human anesthetic and later produced only as a veterinary anesthetic, PCP is no longer produced or used for legitimate purposes.
  • Today, virtually all PCP encountered in the U.S. is produced in clandestine laboratories. vii
  • PCP production is centered in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. viii
i "Drugs of Abuse," Drug Enforcement Administration, 1997
ii "District of Columbia Drug Threat Assessment," National Drug Intelligence Center, January 2002
iii"Drugs of Abuse," Drug Enforcement Administration, 1997
iv"District of Columbia Drug Threat Assessment," National Drug Intelligence Center, January 2002
v "Drugs of Abuse," Drug Enforcement Administration, 1997
vi "Drugs of Abuse," Drug Enforcement Administration, 1997
vii "Drugs of Abuse," Drug Enforcement Administration, 1997
viii Drug Descriptions, Drug Enforcement Administration, www.dea.gov

What are Predatory Drugs?
Rohypnol, Ketamine, and GHB and its analogues GBL, and BD 1,4 have gained notoriety as drugs used to facilitate sexual assault, adding an urgency to law enforcement efforts to pursue traffickers of these drugs.

The Dangers of Predatory Drugs

  • These drugs render the victim incapable of resisting sexual advances.
  • Sexual Assaults facilitated by these drugs can be difficult to prosecute or even recognize because:
  • Victims may not be aware that they ingested a drug at all. The drugs are invisible and odorless when dissolved in water. They are somewhat salty tasting, but are indiscernible when dissolved in beverages such as sodas, juice, liquor, or beer.
  • Due to memory problems induced by these drugs, the victim may not be aware of the attack until 8-12 hours after it occurred.
  • The drugs are metabolized quickly, so there may be little physical evidence to support the claim that the drugs were used to facilitate an assault.
  • Memory impairment caused by the drugs also eliminates evidence about the attack.

Learn more about what you can do to protect yourself and those you care about from predatory drugs at www.rainn.org or www.911rape.org

Psilocybin & Psilocyn and other Tryptamines
A number of Schedule I hallucinogenic substances are classified chemically as tryptamines. Most of these are found in nature but many, if not all, can be produced synthetically. Psilocybin (O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) and psilocyn (4-hydroxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine) are obtained from certain mushrooms indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Mexico, and the United States. As pure chemicals at doses of 10 to 20 mg, these hallucinogens produce muscle relaxation, dilation of pupils, vivid visual and auditory distortions, and emotional disturbances. However, the effects produced by consuming preparations of dried or brewed mushrooms are far less predictable and largely depend on the particular mushrooms used and the age and preservation of the extract. There are many species of "magic" mushrooms that contain varying amounts of these tryptamines, as well as uncertain amounts of other chemicals. As a consequence, the hallucinogenic activity, as well as the extent of toxicity produced by various plant samples, are often unknown.

Dimethyltryptamin (DMT) has a long history of use and is found in a variety of plants and seeds. It can also be produced synthetically. It is ineffective when taken orally, unless combined with another drug that inhibits its metabolism. Generally it is sniffed, smoked, or injected. The effective hallucinogenic dose in humans is about 50 to 100 mg and lasts for about 45 to 60 minutes. Because the effects last only about an hour; the experience has been referred to as a "businessmans trip."

A number of other hallucinogens have very similar structures and properties to those of DMT. Diethyltryptamine (DET), for example, is an analogue of DMT and produces the same pharmacological effects but is somewhat less potent than DMT. Alpha-ethyltryptamine (AET) is another tryptamine hallucinogen added to the list of Schedule I hallucinogens in 1994. Bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N-N-dimethyltryptamine) is a Schedule I substance found in certain mushrooms, seeds, and skin glands of Bufo toads. In general, most bufotenine preparations from natural sources are extremely toxic. N,N-Diisopropyl-5-methoxytryptamine (referred to as Foxy-Methoxy) is an orally active tryptamine recently encountered in the United States.