The following text is for informational purposes only, don't tryit at home!



PCP Synthesis
PHENCYCLIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE 
Phencyclidine and Other l-Phenylcyclohexylamines. Phencyclidine (PCP or angel 
dust) and its analogs create many different types of effects, dependent mainly 
on the individual user. It was first used to immobilize primates and is still 
used as an analgesic and/or anesthetic agent. It has been used on humans for the 
same purpose with limited success. I chose to put PCP into the hallucinogens 
chapter instead of the analgesics chapter because of the hallucinations the drug 
produces. As stated above, the effects are mainly determined by the user. Some 
people experience paranoia, others have fits of rage, and others have great 
euphoria. Mood alterations are always accompanied with time, perception and 
visual hallucinations. Some people have tried the drug and do not agree with it, 
so I do not approve of the practice of telling people that your PCP is THC or 
some other hallucinogen. These drugs are quite potent, so use them with a great 
deal of respect (I think that overdoses have CP the bad reputation that follows 
it today) as bummers from this drug have occurred often. 
The way that ethylamine, diethylamine, methylamine, piperidine, etc., can be 
used as analogs of one or another reminds me of the synthesis of LSD or DMTs. 
The formula is quite easy to carry out and it gives good yields in large 
quantities. Note: Given are several different methods. You may use any way that 
you feel will suit your needs and you may substitute any of the amines with an 
equimolar amount of amine analog to produce the desired l-phenylcyclohexylamine. 
However, the formulas stated give the best yields obtainable with that 
particular amine. 
These drugs are active orally, intermuscularly, and also by smoking. They should 
be kept in a dark, well stoppered bottle, in a freezer as much as possible. CA, 
13881 (1963). 
METHOD 1. A mixture of 100 g of anhydrous ethylamine and 220 g of cyclohexanone 
is kept 16 hours, shaken with solid KOH, and the oil layer is removed by 
decantation. Distill the oil layer in vacuo to get the intermediate 
N-cyclohexylidenethylamine. Prepare a mixture of phenyllithium by mixing 11 g of 
lithium and 76 ml PhBr in 500 ml of Et20. Add the phenyllithium dropwise to a 
solution of 51 g of the N-cyclohexylidenethylamine in 500 ml of Et20, with 
stirring and cooling, to keep the temp at 0¡. Stir for one hour and then 
decompose by adding water. Separate the Et20 layer, wash with H20 and distill to 
get 1- phenylcyclohexylethylamine or analog. The hydrochloride form is obtained 
in the usual way, as given below. 
METHOD 2. A mixture of 170 g of piperidine, 220 g of cyclohexylamine, and 750 ml 
of benzene is azeotropically distilled until the evolution of H20 stops, then 
vacuum distill to get cyclohexenyl-piperidine. p-toluenesulfonic acid 
monohydrate (190 g) in 250 ml of PhMe is heated under a water trap until all the 
H20 is removed, then add a solution of 165 g of cyclohexyl-piperidine in 500 ml 
of Et20, with cooling, to keep temp at 0¡. A solution of I mole of PhMgBr (made 
from 157 g of PhBr and 24 g of Mg) in 750 ml of Et20 is added (still holding the 
temp at 0¡ to 5¡). The mixture is stirred for an additional 30 min after the 
dropwise addition is complete. Decompose the mixture by adding an excess 
saturated NH4Cl and NH40H. The Et20 layer is removed, dried over K2CO3, and 
distilled to give phenylcyclohexylpiperidine. Convert to the hydrochloride form 
by dissolving the free base in anexcess of iso-PrOH-HC1 and then precipitate the 
salt (the hydrochloride) with Et20 and crystallizefrom Et20-iso-PrOH (this is a 
mixture).