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Why is PCP schedule II in the USA?

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hamhurricane

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I was reading a review of some legal proceedings related to PCP where the author noted PCP is a schedule II substance in the United States, at first I thought this was an error, but then realized the author was correct. Given that a schedule II drug is partially characterized by having "a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions" and the vast majority of Schedule II drugs are used in some medical capacity (with a few exceptions e.g. phenmetrazine, methorphan, phenazocine) why was PCP saved from placement in schedule I and does it have any currently accepted medical use in the United States or elsewhere?
 
hmm... interesting.. From what I know, its use to have some medical apps... but better things have come along since PCP, a la Ketamine.. Perhaps since it's past medical applications it stays in C-II.. but that still kinda begs the question on why..

good queston, Ham


edit:
PCP was first synthesized in 1926, and later tested after World War II as a surgical anesthetic. Because of its adverse side effects, such as hallucinations, mania, delirium, and disorientation, it was shelved until the 1950s. In 1953, it was patented by Parke-Davis and named Sernyl (referring to serenity), but was only used in humans for a few years because of side-effects. In 1967, it was given the trade name Sernylan and marketed as a veterinary anesthetic, but was again discontinued. Its side effects and long half-life in the human body made it unsuitable for medical applications.


I don't think it has any uses anymore
 
It used to be a veterinary anaesthetic; I think they used to anaesthetize elephants with PCP, or at least that's what I heard. It was test-driven as an anaesthetic in humans back in World War II, but the side-effects, mostly delirium and emergence phenomenon (erratic behavior upon waking up from anaesthesia), caused it to be discontinued.

Wiki claims that PCP was discontinued as a veterinary anaesthetic, but I have a feeling this might not be true everywhere in the US. PCP is a common street drug in major US cities still; I would assume lawmakers would have pushed for it to be rescheduled to Schedule 1 by now if it didn't have any currently accepted use.

It's still Schedule 2, so either people are lazy, or it's being used somewhere in America legally. I have a feeling it is still used on animals, probably under a different name to downplay the fact that it is, indeed, angel dust (similar to how when GHB is prescribed, it is usually referred to as sodium oxybate, or when nitroglycerin is prescribed, it is usually referred to as glyceryl trinitrate, in order to not cause people to panic).
 
That is correct. However, in practice I never came across any formulation of PCP in veterinary medicine. On ketamine and occasionally tiletamine. Then again, the animals I worked with were not "exotics" or larger than a horse (even this was rare, I only went to watch). If you've even been kicked by a horse you'll understand why.
 
PCP is fairly easily synthesized, hence the continued presence in the US. Not a big media push to have it fully banned, so it hasn't been. that simple.
 
Historical reasons. The CSA became law in 1970. At that time PCP was still marketed somewhat.

Theoretically a PCP script can be written, though you'd probably need a compounding pharmacist to fill it.

Has any drug ever been promoted to schedule I from one of the lesser schedules?
 
Right, I am well aware of its past use under the brand names "Sernyl" and "Sernylan" but it had completely fallen out of medical use, even as a veterinary anesthetic by the mid 70s. The last paper I can find is from 1977, excluding one veterinary study from 1991 where it was confirmed to be commercially unavailable and a sample was provided by the DEA for experimental use. TCP was placed in scheduled I in 1975. PCE and PCPy were placed in schedule I in 1978 and TCPy was placed in schedule I in 1989, so how did PCP escape scheduling?

Ham your point that it is easily synthesized is, of course, a strike against it from the DEA point of view and its use was always more prevalent than things like PCE. Also while I agree that there has been no media push specifically aimed at its scheduling recently, it is one of the most demonized drugs known - feared almost universally by abstainers and drug users alike. In the late 70s the media coverage surrounding it probably surpassed the coverage of mephedrone in 2010 many time over.
 
For the most part, drugs don't change schedules. There are a few exceptions as noted above, but it's rare. For example, pretty much everyone believes that cannabis has a greater medical use that cocaine, meth, and PCP, yet the former remains in schedule I and the later remain in schedule II. The DEA might not admit that cannabis has medical uses, but they also aren't going to openly argue that medicinal meth is better than medicinal marijuana.
 
Im not convinced that marijuana has a greater medicinal value than some of the highly controlled C-II.

If you are working at a university laboratory, you'd be surprised how easy it is to get a DEA-222 license.......
 
hamhurricane said:
I was reading a review of some legal proceedings related to PCP where the author noted PCP is a schedule II substance in the United States, at first I thought this was an error, but then realized the author was correct. Given that a schedule II drug is partially characterized by having "a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions" and the vast majority of Schedule II drugs are used in some medical capacity (with a few exceptions e.g. phenmetrazine, methorphan, phenazocine) why was PCP saved from placement in schedule I and does it have any currently accepted medical use in the United States or elsewhere?
Click to expand...

it was used as an anaesthetic, maybe not an obvious first choice. but thats my guess why as for schedule one there has to be no acceptable medical use for a given drug
 
Drugs change schedule all the time. LAAM went to CI from CII. Buprenorphine to CIII from CV (IV?), THC was given dual CI-CIII status, Propylhexedrine went to unscheduled from CV, that partial agonist opiate whose name I forget went from being CIV or V to being unscheduled (the nasal inhaler one, for migraines).
 
So Im assuming this means that 4-meo-pcp wouldn't fall under analog laws just like Methoxetamine doesnt since its Sched III
 
I've assumed it was just a matter of PCP still being used in veterinary medicine is 1970 when the CSA was adopted and there being no real push to bump it into schedule I as penalties are not too different for manufacture and distribution of schedules I or II ? (At least by looking at the sentencing guidelines and looking at other high profile schedule II substances like methamphetamine or cocaine). What would be interesting however would be to scour the federal register for the amounts produced in recent years to see if it actually used anywhere. I haven't looked at such in several years but the amounts of other substances being produced were always staggering...
 
I'd venture a guess that they've never really had a reason to reschedule it. And also, if you're looking for even a modicum of logic, you're probably not going to find it in U.S. Federal drug scheduling legislation.
 
sort of off topic but... How would you like to be the last dude to be administered PCP as an anestetic? I'll bet that guy freaked out his attending doctor, esp. when he started peeling his fingernails off!

Im a pcp virgin, but isn't it a dissasociative akin to Ketamine, DXM, and Nitrous Oxide?
 
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