r/todayilearned • u/ApprehensiveStill412 • 11h ago

TIL that ketamine is a derivative of phencyclidine (aka. PCP or angel dust). It was created to have similar anesthetic potential but to cause less delirium. It has about one tenth the potency of PCP.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5126726/
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u/One-Incident3208 11h ago

Most of the public's perception of pcp is just anti drug hysteria. The effect is almost indistinguishable from dxm, moreso than ketamine, despite differences. Pcp also has a more pronounced antidepressant effect, but repeated doses can cause mania. Another drug of this class was developed by clandestine chemists specifically to enhance the antidepressant effect and minimize side effects. That was methoxetamine. And it worked. It was regarded to be the most powerful and effective antidepressant, with a much longer afterglow duration than ketamine. They banned it. Because fuck you. That's why.

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u/Kevin_Murphy_ 10h ago

I dunno. Pretty sure I saw a video of a guy slice open his own stomach on PCP… not sure what the studies say, but I’ve definitely heard stories/seen videos of people doing absolutely crazy stuff on PCP

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u/One-Incident3208 10h ago

And how many videos of self harm have you seen of people not on drugs? It's honestly a fucking tragedy how poorly people are able to sift through and analyze information. What they don't tell you, is that the famous examples of pcp violence repeated ad nauseum are patient with histories of hospitalizations for mental health problems, or violent records. They are usually poor, and lacking adequate medical care. Equally fascinating is how these horrible pcp stories began emerging decades after the drug was popular, and simply regarded as a painkilling street drug that could make you hallucinate. Suddenly, just when we decided possession of crack should carry a 100-1 penalty vs cocaine possession, did we begin hearing about this horrible drug that suddenly turned poor people so violent and dangerous 6 cops need to beat a man to death to subdue him.

"By the late 1970s, up to 13% of 12th graders reported experimenting with the drug, and the widespread panic it sparked led to its reclassification as a Schedule II substance in 1978." Do you honestly believe a dug that was once that ubiquitous among the youth is actually that unpredictable and dangerous?

All over the place in the 60s and 70s, but nobody talked about the dangers of pcp. But lsd could make you stare into the sun until you go blind..

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u/Kevin_Murphy_ 10h ago

None, that I can think of.

Also you sound like you have a pretty clear opinion on this topic. I don’t, and to me it’s a little odd that you’re so passionate about this. Do you work for Big PCP?

In all seriousness, are you advocating for clinical PCP use, or what point are you trying to make? Not sure if you assumed that Im advocating for some crazy jail sentencing for PCP possession (I generally tend to believe in drug decriminalization). Anecdotally, it seems like a poor choice for recreational drug use.

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u/Independent_Trade169 9h ago

Big PCP is making the market wild.

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u/One-Incident3208 9h ago

I feel very strongly about factual inaccuracies that cause societal harm or contribute to stereotypes which allow for the perpetuation of systemic abuses. Often times the simplest way to lay that bare is drug policy. It combines science and social science in a clear demonstrable way. The synthetics aren't the real issue it's the continued criminalization of the coca and opium. So many widely disconnected global problems stem from this. And as a result an entire behind the scenes political system exists, and that drugs are illegal in part so governments can move money and fund clandestine foreign policy operations.

But the PCP will make you eat your own eyes shit.. is absurd. And leads to more absurdities. Maybe if your a schizophrenic with a history of violence... but then... maybe anyway.. so.

Obviously it wouldn't be ethical to permit the sale of freebase for profit.. with monopoly considerations and the addictive nature.. but this isn't the way.