PHENCYCLIDINE, CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, AND THE DEFENSE OF DIMINISHED CAPACITY (FROM PHENCYCLIDINE (PCP) ABUSE - AN APPRAISAL, 1978, BY ROBERT C PETERSON AND RICHARD C STILLMAN)

• NCJ Number: 53661
• Author(s): R K SIEGEL
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 17 pages
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

BEHAVIORAL ABERRATIONS INDUCED BY PHENCYCLIDINE (PCP) USE ARE DESCRIBED, WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DRUG INTOXICATION AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

Abstract

THE ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPTS OF DIMINISHED CAPACITY AND OF DRUGS AS SCAPEGOATS ARE TRACED, AND A LEGAL DEFINITION OF DRUG-INDUCED INTOXICATION IS PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF PCP ARE REVIEWED BRIEFLY, WITH REFERENCE TO FOUR TYPES OF BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES TO THE SORT OF CENTRAL SYSTEM EXCITATION INDUCED BY PCP USE. SYMPTOMS EXHIBITED BY PCP-INTOXICATED PERSONS IN CLINICAL SETTINGS ARE DESCRIBED, AS ARE OBSERVATIONS RECORDED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO HAVE ENCOUNTERED PCP-INTOXICATED PERSONS. IT IS NOTED THAT SUCH ENCOUNTERS FREQUENTLY ARE ASSOCIATED BY VIOLENT, ASSAULTIVE, COMBATIVE, SUICIDAL, AND EVEN HOMICIDAL BEHAVIOR BY INDIVIDUALS. OFTEN VIOLENT AND AGGRESSIVE REACTIONS ARE TRIGGERED BY COMMON POLICE PRACTICES (INTERROGATION, HANDCUFFING, ETC.). EXAMPLES OF STATEMENTS MADE BY PCP-INTOXICATED PERSONS ARE PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED, AND THE COGNITIVE PROCESSES OF PCP-INTOXICATED PERSONS ARE DESCRIBED. SPECIAL ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE STATE OF PREOCCUPATION WITH DEATH OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH PCP INTOXICATION. A DISCUSSION OF AGGRESSION AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IN PCP USERS POINTS OUT THAT THE PCP-INTOXICATED PERSON'S ORIENTATION TOWARD THE IMMEDIATE PRESENT AND DISREGARD FOR THE LONG-RANGE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS OR HER BEHAVIOR MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO PREMEDITATE A CRIMINAL ACT. HOWEVER, IT IS EMPHASIZED THAT, ALTHOUGH PCP USE CAN BRING ABOUT AGGRESSION-PRONENESS, EMOTIONALLY STABLE PEOPLE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF LOW DOSES OF PCP ARE NOT LIKELY TO ACT ABNORMALLY. THE FORENSIC PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGIST'S AND PSYCHIATRIST'S ROLE IN CASES INVOLVING DIMINISHED CAPACITY DEFENSE BASED ON PCP DIMINISHED CAPACITY IS NOTED, AS IS THE TENDENCY FOR SUCH DEFENSES TO BE LESS SUCCESSFUL THAN INSANITY DEFENSES. THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY OF PCP AND OTHER DRUGS AND TO DISPEL THE MAGICAL NOTIONS THAT SOMETIMES SURFACE IN TRIALS INVOLVING DIMINISHED CAPACITY DUE TO DRUG USE IS EMPHASIZED. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)