Phencyclidine - The Dust of Angels, Emphasis on Molecular Mechanisms of PCP

The Dawn of a New Age
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.
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