PCP AND KETAMINEBY: JESSICA KLATT AND JESSIE KASPERSKI

Background and History of PCP

Phencyclidine is usually abbreviated as “PCP” which comes from the drug’s full chemical name 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl) piperidine (Trade name is Sernyl).

PCP was first tested in the mid-1950’s by Parke, Davis and Company as a potential anesthetic agent.

Early studies reveal that the drug produced an unusual kind of anesthesia.

The subjects exhibited a trance like state

PCP was initially thought to be clinically promising because it didn’t produce the respiratory depression associated with barbiturate anesthesia, possessing a high therapeutic index

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PCP caused postoperative reactions such as blurred vision, dizziness, mild disorientation, hallucinations, severe agitation and even violence. Resulting in the clinical use of PCP to be terminated in 1965.

In 1967 PCP found its way onto the streets under street names such as “angel dust” and “hog”

PCP is listed as a schedule 2 drug

Background and History of Ketamine

Ketamine came into being as a safer alternative to PCP.

CI-581, later named ketamine was less potent and shorter acting than PCP.

Ketamine was soon found to be a valuable anesthetic for certain medical procedures, particularly in children and is also widely used in veterinarian use.

It is currently marketed legally as a prescription medication under the trade names Ketalar, Ketaset, and Vetalar.

Ketamine is a schedule 3 class drug

PCP is generally obtained in powdered or pill form and the drug can be ingested by virtually any common route.

It can be taken orally, administered intranasally(snorting), or injected.

Many PCP users apply it to tobacco, marijuana or parsley cigarettes for smoking purposes.

ROUTES OF ADMINISTRARTION

Ketamine is marketed as an injectable liquid, however street sellers commonly evaporate the liquid into a powder to either snort or compress into pill form

It’s street names are “K” or “Special K” or “Cat Valium”

Users who wish to not be too intoxicated small lines or piles called “bumps”

The first studies on user effects of PCP were conducted in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

When given a subanesthetic dose of PCP users reported feeling detached from their body, sensation vertigo or of floating, numbness, and sometimes a dream like state.

Effects of PCP have been compared with symptoms of those with schizophrenia.

Ketamine use and abuse is currently much greater than of PCP

Structure of PCP and Ketamine, Function in the Brain

-PCP and Ketamine are noncompetative antagonists of NMDA receptors (NMDA=N-methyl-D-aspartate), and NMDA is a ionotropic receptor (ionotrpic meaning muscular contractions) for glutamate. Glutamate is a ionotropic and metabotropic receptor.

-Glutamate is a non-essential amino acid found in many areas of the brain, and is a key compound in cellular metabolism.

-NMDA is a glutamate receptor , and when binded with glutamate, it causes positively charged ions to pass through the cell membrane, and it is important for synaptic plasticity, learrning, and memory.

-When a person uses PCP or Ketamine, they block the receptors from binding and create cognitive deficits in memory, increased presynaptic glutamate release (overactive glutamate transmission), and other deficits mentioned. (deficits include positive psychotic symptoms)

-PCP and Ketamine also have reinforcing effects in the brain, and they both activate the midbrain area of dopamine within the frontal cortex. (frontal cortex is responsible for long term memory, emotion, choice making, motor functions, and more). With these high releases of dopamine in the frontal lobe, it is known to cause the reinforcing effects.

PCP and Ketamine active midbrain DA cell firing and stimulate DA release, particularly in the prefrontal cortex.

This enhancement of dopaminergic neurotransmission could contribute the PCP’s and Ketamine’s reinforcing effects.

There have been many studies done on animals with Ketamine, It was found rewarding in not only lab animals but humans as well.

“The effects of Ketamine may only last an hour or less, but person's senses, judgment, and coordination may be affected for 18 to 24 hours. Tests can detect Ketamine in a person's system up to 48 hours of ingestion. Small doses block the body’s pain response, causing self-injury and larger doses lower the heart rate, leading to oxygen depletion of the brain and muscles. Overdoses can cause the heart to stop beating and, possibly, temporary paralysis”(Ketamine).

Use and Abuse

PCP is not widely used compared with many other substances of abuse. For example, the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that about 48,000 people aged 12 or older used PCP for the first time that year, which contrasts with the 2.6 million people who tried marijuana for the first time (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012).

In contrast to PCP, Ketamine has been growing because of the drug’s popularity with dance scenes.

Legality in U.S. for Ketamine

Under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, K is a Schedule III drug. Substances given this designation:

Potential for abuse, but it is less than for drugs that are ranked as Schedule I or II.

Has an accepted medical use as a treatment within the United States.

Abuse of the substance or drug may result in low to moderate physical dependence or a high psychological dependence.

Schedule III drugs, such as ketamine, may be dispensed through an oral or written prescription. The prescription must be filled within six months of the date it was issued. The physician who wrote the prescription cannot order more than five refills of the medication. A patient who is being treated with a Schedule III drug will need to see his or her physician before being allowed to obtain any more of the drug.

When ketamine is distributed by prescription, the bottle must be labeled clearly. A warming must be placed on it clearly stating that it is a crime to distribute the drug to anyone other than the person named on the prescription label. 

An individual convicted of the crime of possessing Vitamin K or any other Schedule III is subject to the following sentence:

Imprisonment for a period of up to five years and/or,

A fine of up to $250,000 for an individual or up to $1 million where the defendant is other than an individual

“Ketamine is illegal to posses for personal use in the United States, because its only legitimate use is as a veterinary anesthetic or animal tranquilizer. Because of this, the two ways in which Ketamine is delivered into an abuser's hands is through the illegitimate diversion of legitimate products or through burglaries of veterinarian practices”(Ketamine).

Videos

Ketamine

https://youtu.be/tb5o3v4RVNQ

Work Cited

Google for images

Psychopharmacology: Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/pcp.asp

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/ketamine.asp

http://www.taadas.org/factsheets/ketamine.htm

http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml

http://www.drugs.com/illicit/pcp.html

http://neurotransporter.org/glutamate.html (glutamate)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5274/ (NMDA)

http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v7/n8/full/4001093a.html

http://www.thegooddrugsguide.com/ketamine/legality.htm