Angel Dust, An Ethnographic Study of PCP Users

248 Pages·8.087 MB·English

by  Harvey W. Feldman, Michael H. Agar, George M. Beschner

HARVEY W. FELDM
MICHAEL H. AG
HARVEY W FELDMAN
MICHAEL H. AGAR
GEORGE M. BESCHNER
Phencyclidine, a synthetic hallucinogen
developed in the late 1950s, is now firmly
entrenched in the repertoires of polydrug users
under such names as PCP, angel dust, tic, hog,
and horse tranquilizer. Typically, the PCP user
is a white adolescent from a low to middle
income family, who smokes, shoots, swallows,
or snorts the drug at social gatherings. Easily
obtained, angel dust provides a quick, potent,
and inexpensive high and offers adolescents
an escape from boredom or tension. The
unpredictability of angel dust’s side effects
and its bad street reputation confer status on
those group members who test themselves
against it. Essentially a phase drug, PCP loses
its appeal as adolescents shed their
dependence on group support and perceive
PCP use as detrimental to developing
social/sexual relationships.
The first application of ethnographic
methodology to a study of phencyclidine use,
ANGEL DUST traces the street history of
phencyclidine—its appearance in the 1960s, its
peak popularity in the mid-1970s, and its
current status in Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia,
and Seattle-Tacoma. Four ethnographers
observed and interviewed more than 300 PCP
users to assess the patterns of use, the social
dynamics of PCP-using groups, and the
psychological, physical, and social effects of
extended use. Their findings specifically
contradict the results of prior studies and
highlight insufficiencies in current drug-abuse
reporting programs. ANGEL DUST is an
exhaustive, cross-national study of
phencyclidine use and an important model for
future research.
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute Library
1107 NE 45th Street, Suite 120
Univ. of Washington, Box 354805
Seattle, WA 98105-4631
[phone]
,hol & Drug Abuse Institute Library
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v of Washington, Box 354805
ttle, WA 98105-4631
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Angel Dust

Angel Dust
An Ethnographic Study of PCP Users
ALCOHOLISM & DRUG ABUSE INSTITUTE.
UNIVERSITY Of WASHINGTON /
3937.15th AVENUE N.E., NL-15
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 38105
Edited by
Harvey W. Feldman
Birch & Davis Associates, Inc.
Michael H. Agar
University of Houston
George M. Beschner
National Institute on Drug Abuse
LexingtonBooks
D.C. Heath and Company
Lexington, Massachusetts
Toronto
pqs
fVS3
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Angel dust, an ethnographic study of phencyclidine users.
1. Phencyclidine abuse—United States—Addresses, essays, lectures.
I. Feldman, Harvey W. II. Agar, Michael. III. Beschner, George M.
HV5822.P45A53 362.2’93 79-8319 - 5'^
ISBN 0-669-03379-0
Copyright © 1979 by D.C. Heath and Company
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmit¬
ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
Printed in the United States of America.
International Standard Book Number: 0-669-03379-0
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-8319
Contents
Foreword Edward Preble vii
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1 Introduction George M. Beschner and
Harvey W. Feldman 1
Chapter 2 The Study Method Michael H. Agar 19
Chapter 3 PCP Use in Four Cities: An Overview
Harvey W. Feldman 29
Chapter 4 A Quantitative Analysis of 100 PCP Users
Dan Waldorf 53
Chapter 5 “Buzzin”’: PCP Use in Philadelphia
James M. Walters 73
Chapter 6 Sea-Tac and PCP Jennifer James and
Elena Andresen 109
Chapter 7 Burning out on the Northwest Side: PCP Use in
Chicago W. Wayne Wiebel 159
Chapter 8 Freaks and Cognoscenti: PCP Use in Miami
Patricia J. Cleckner 183
Chapter 9 The PCP Study in Context: Some Comments on
Policy and Method Michael H. Agar 211
Index 219
About the Contributors 225
About the Editors 227
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