How Long Does PCP Stay in Your System?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• PCP stands for phencyclidine. Some people call it angel dust. It is a strong drug that changes how you see and feel things. It is classified as a Schedule II substance, which means it has a high risk for misuse.
• PCP stays in the body for a while. On average, it takes about 21 hours for the amount in your system to drop by half, but this can range from 7 to 46 hours.
• It usually takes between 1.5 and 10 days for PCP to leave your body. For some people, it can take even longer.
• Some develop a pattern of using PCP that becomes hard to stop. Treatment and support are available, including detox and therapy.

PCP (phencyclidine), often called angel dust or fry, is a powerful dissociative hallucinogenic drug. It was developed in the 1950s as an anesthetic and pulled from the market in the 1960s due to severe side effects. 

This guide explains what PCP is, how long PCP stays in your system, and how PCP addiction is treated.

What Is PCP?

PCP is a Schedule II controlled substance, per the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and dependence. 

Available as a powder or liquid, it is usually smoked, though it may be snorted or injected, and it is often used with tobacco or cannabis. 

PCP produces powerful hallucinations and dissociative effects, feeling detached from reality or one’s own body.

Its effects are dose-dependent and can range from stimulation and mild hallucinations to seizures, catatonia, and coma. 

People who use PCP may become aggressive or violent and feel invulnerable, and often combine it with other drugs, raising the danger.

How Long Is PCP in Your System?

On average, it takes about 21 hours for your body to get rid of half the PCP in your system. For some people, this can be as short as 7 hours or as long as 46 hours. 

This is called the half-life, and it helps estimate how long PCP can be found in your body.

This measure is often used to determine the length of time a specific drug can be estimated to remain in an individual’s system. Drugs that are fat-soluble (lipophilic) will remain in the system longer than drugs that are hydrophilic or water-soluble. PCP is lipophilic.

The elimination of the drug is accomplished over a number of routes, but the primary organ responsible for eliminating drugs is the liver. When the drug is smoked, almost half of it is destroyed by the heat; when it is injected or snorted, this is obviously not the case.

If an individual uses an average amount of PCP based on the average half-life of the drug, it could take a person anywhere from approximately 1.5 days to 10 days to eliminate the drug from the system.

However, some sources suggest that because PCP is fat-soluble, it may be stored in fat cells in the body, and the half-life may be considerably longer (up to 72 hours for most individuals). In this scenario, it would take an individual about 17 days to eliminate PCP from their system.

The half-life of the drug will vary somewhat from individual to individual. The amount of time that a drug stays in a person’s system is dependent on a number of factors, including the particular type of drug being taken.

According to the book Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Abused Drugs, some of these other factors include:

• The length of the time the individual used the drug, how often they used it, and the amount typically used.
• Individual variations in metabolism.
• Individual factors, such as age, body weight, gender, genetics, and liver and kidney functions: Individuals who have urine that is highly acidic eliminate PCP faster than individuals who have less acidic urine.
• How the drug is taken.
• Ingestion of other drugs along with PCP: A number of drugs, such as antidepressants, the sleep medication Ambien, and others, affect the metabolism of PCP, and individuals using these drugs along with PCP will retain PCP in their system longer.

Is PCP Addictive?

The question of whether or not a particular drug is “addictive” actually depends on what is meant by the use of the term addictive. This term is often used to insinuate physical dependence (developing both tolerance and withdrawal to some substance).

While the development of physical dependence on a drug may constitute two specific symptoms of a substance use disorder (the current term that is used to designate both substance misuse and substance dependence), it is neither necessary nor sufficient to have both tolerance and withdrawal to a substance in order to have a formal diagnosis of a substance use disorder.

Thus, there are clear diagnostic criteria presented by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) that specify the formal signs and symptoms of an individual who has developed a phencyclidine use disorder, meaning that an individual has developed a formal substance use disorder as a result of using phencyclidine (PCP).

Individuals who discontinue PCP may experience a number of emotional symptoms, including:

• Cravings for the drug.
• Loss of energy.
• A general overall feeling of malaise.
• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Issues with motivation.
• Difficulty concentrating.
• Loss of appetite.
• Sleeping disorders.
• Weight loss.
• Issues with memory.

In rare cases, individuals have developed psychotic behaviors and seizures. The development of seizures may be associated with polydrug use. Symptoms may take several days to a week to appear and typically peak within 3-5 days after discontinuation.

Some of the symptoms, such as depression and issues with motivation, have been noted to last as long as a year in some individuals.

Therefore, at the current time, it appears that individuals can certainly develop a substance use disorder as a result of misusing PCP, but they do not develop physical dependence on the drug.

Nonetheless, a number of anecdotal reports suggest that some individuals demonstrate withdrawal-like symptoms when they discontinue using PCP, and animal models of PCP misuse have indicated that animals may develop a withdrawal syndrome to PCP; however, this PCP withdrawal syndrome is not demonstrated in humans in research studies.

In the APA’s diagnostic criteria for phencyclidine use disorder, there is no designation that an individual can develop withdrawal from the drug. This indicates that any PCP withdrawal symptoms associated with the drugs use are most likely emotional and psychological in nature and do not represent a syndrome of physical dependence.

According to APA and other sources, such as the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), even though use of PCP is most often intermittent in individuals who misuse it, there is research that indicates that individuals who habitually misuse PCP do develop tolerance to the drug (needing more of it to get the same effects once achieved at lower doses).

PCP Detox

ASAM specifies formal withdrawal management protocols for drugs; withdrawal management is a term used for what many refer to as detox or medical detox. Medications can be administered to individuals who have stopped using PCP based on the person’s specific symptom profile in an effort to control those symptoms.

Often, benzodiazepines may be used to deal with anxiety, depression, and even potential seizures in individuals who misused PCP with other drugs. These may be administered by the physician while slowly cutting down the dose at specified intervals to wean the individual off the drug and control the course of the person’s withdrawal.

Because individuals who misuse PCP are likely to misuse other drugs in conjunction with PCP and may have developed physical dependence on those drugs, they may also require specific withdrawal management techniques for those drugs (e.g., alcohol misuse in individuals who misused alcohol with PCP).

Long-term treatment for PCP addiction requires that the individual become involved in formal substance use disorder therapy. The therapy of choice for individuals with substance use disorders is some form of cognitive behavioral therapy; however, other models of therapy can also be used.

Therapy can be delivered in a group format, in individual sessions, or in a combination of group and individual sessions. Delivering therapy in a combination of group and individual sessions take advantage of the strengths of both treatment formats

Individuals who have co-occurring psychological conditions, such as depression, or have more than one substance use disorder would need these issues to be treated concurrently with their phencyclidine use disorder.

Most people require more than going through the discontinuation process to treat a substance use disorder. Research indicates individuals can benefit from being involved in formal treatment for a sufficient length of time so the potential for relapse is reduced to a point where the person is not at a significant risk to relapse in the future.

In addition to therapy, the individual should be involved in social support groups and receive professional management of medical conditions if needed. They should also receive other interventions that are appropriate for the particular case, such as job training, housing placement services, training in social skills, etc.

PCP Detox and Treatment

There is no single medication for PCP withdrawal, but medical detox can manage symptoms based on each person’s profile.

 Benzodiazepines may be used to ease anxiety, agitation, or seizure risk, especially when PCP is used with other drugs. Because polydrug use is common, people may also need withdrawal management for other substances like alcohol.

Long-term recovery calls for cognitive behavioral therapy and other approaches, delivered in individual or group settings, with treatment for any co-occurring conditions like depression.

Treatment for PCP Addiction at Oxford

Effective treatment for PCP addiction is available. Oxford Treatment Center offers several levels of care, including inpatient rehab in Mississippi and outpatient care. 

Admissions navigators are available 24/7 to answer questions and check whether your insurance covers rehab. 

You can start admissions or review ways to pay for treatment any time. Learn more about hallucinogens and dissociatives.