Embalming fluid-soaked marijuana: new high or new guise for PCP?

J Psychoactive Drugs. 1998 Apr-Jun;30(2):215-9. doi: 10.1080/02791072.1998.10399693.

Abstract

A growing trend of smoking marijuana soaked in what is purported to be embalming fluid has been reported in the literature since the mid-1980s. This article describes several cases of intoxication, gives regional epidemiological data on this phenomenon, and includes current nomenclature. The authors also analyze a sample of fluid said to be embalming fluid and discover PCP (phencyclidine) and multiple congeners and by-products of PCP manufacture. The implications of this finding are discussed, and the hypothesis that most embalming fluid-soaked marijuana likely contains PCP is considered.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cannabis*
  • Embalming*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Marijuana Smoking
  • Phencyclidine*
  • Substance-Related Disorders

Substances

  • Phencyclidine