Phencyclidine, which was first marketed in 1950’s as a surgical anesthetic, is a well known hallucinogen, i.e. a psychoactive drug that induces hallucinations or altered sensory experiences. Soon, the side effects of this drug were realized, its use was banned and the drug was legally withdrawn from the market. Patients who received this drug reported to complain about the state of deliriousness and experienced hallucinations. In the form of powder, phencyclidine can either be snorted or smoked mixing with marijuana or vegetable matter. It can also be consumed in the form of capsules or tablets. Phencyclidine is better known as PCP, Angel Dust, Hog, Peace, Flake, Horse Tranquilizer, Whack, Rocket Fuel etc. on the street. Many testing kits are available to test for presence of phencyclidine or its metabolites. These PCP test kits are rapid home based testing kits that offer a qualitative immunoassay to trace PCP or its metabolites in the urine samples. The cutoff concentration as recommended by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration are set at a minimum of 25ng/ml for a test to be declared positive. Phencyclidine metabolites are excreted in the urine as unchanged drug in 4-19% cases and as conjugated metabolites in 25-30% cases. The metabolites of PCP can be traced in the urine within 4 to 6 hours of consumption and can be detected for even 7-14 days. This duration depends on multiple factors like user’s age, metabolic rate, weight, activity, and diet.
DNA & Genetics
DNA & Paternity
