Back When It Was Legal to Make PCP

Author

By Various Authors

Publish Date

Oct. 12, 2011

San Diego Reader, October 17, 1991

Thirty-Five Years Ago
When the new penal statutes take effect January 1, we won’t be able to do what we didn’t know, until now, that we could do. New crimes will include: the possession with intent to manufacture the ingredients of phencyclidine, known in street jargon as PCP or “Angel Dust”; intercepting and disclosing police radio communications to a known suspect; buying a new car in another state with the intention of avoiding California auto emission standards;...and shooting a gun at an occupied motor vehicle.
— CITY LIGHTS: “NEW CRIMES,” Rich Louv, October 14, 1976

Thirty Years Ago
Some people say Raymond Brown is a genius in his field. Others, including deputy district attorney William Holman, say that he is a dangerous con artist indirectly responsible for at least one death. Brown practices homeopathy, a 180-year-old system which relies on herbal remedies to help cure everything from schizophrenia to cancer. On July 15, 1981, Brown was found guilty in San Diego Superior Court of one felony and four misdemeanor charges of practicing medicine without a license.
— “THE DOCTOR IS OUT,” Renee Prince, October 15, 1981

Twenty-Five Years Ago
The “Coppertone” labels that were so neatly wrapped, four to a can, around the tops of every 55-gallon drum have been obliterated with ugly smears of black paint.
Coppertone provided city beaches with 1600 new or reconditioned trash cans at a cost of $30,000 to the Memphis-based firm. Russ Elliot, Coppertone’s senior vice president of advertising, says, “[W]e decided to put our dollars into other methods of advertising, like radio and television, that we thought would be more effective. So we sent out letters, telling our clients they could either send back the litter barrels or keep them, if they removed our name.” Elliott adds that “over time, the barrels get messy and dirty, and we don’t want people to think Coppertone is messy and dirty.”
— CITY LIGHTS: “At YOUR DISPOSAL,” Thomas K. Arnold, October 16, 1986

Twenty Years Ago
Technology called “virtual reality” is the most recent attempt by computer hackers to make their machines fun. Virtual reality systems are being assembled by a variety of organizations, by mixing off-the-shelf components with home-brewed software. NASA, several universities, and Autodesk, a publisher of computer-aided software, all have demonstrated their virtual reality systems at public forums. To date, nobody has sold these systems commercially.
— “VIRTUAL REALITY: TIMOTHY LEARY’S NEW KICK,” Steve Wolfe, October 17, 1991

Fifteen Years Ago
“I had a dream...about girls and models and this show we would produce,” said Rock ’n’ Roll Glamour Show producer Alysia Behun a couple of weeks ago.
Does Behun think this town can accept the role of fashion originator? “Most definitely. San Diego is renowned for their clothing. From the big, baggy shorts to resale stores like Buffalo Exchange, San Diego is the perfect place to showcase up-and-coming fashions.”
— BLURT, Claudia Lopez, October 17, 1996

Ten Years Ago
Regarding your much-ballyhooed San Diego Reader’s Best 2001.... Who would have thought that septic tank professionals would vie to be the best or that confessionals now have a top-ten listing for hard-hitting repentance? The Reader, as it has done for the past year or so, has taken yet another good idea and pushed it to an uncomfortable extreme — you guys just don’t know when to stop! Perhaps the Reader should add one more category: “San Diego Reader Articles of Excess” — what a competitive field that would be.
— LETTERS, Cuauhtemoc Q. Kish, North Park, October 11, 2001

Five Years Ago