NJ: Joints and Formaldehyde - A Wicked, Potent Combo

Buzzby · 08-11-2005, 10:20 AM

Joints and Formaldehyde - A Wicked, Potent Combo
Michaelangelo Conte | Jersey Journal | 08/10/2005

The practice of dipping marijuana cigarettes in embalming fluid has been around for years.

But some experts say the potent combination is becoming more of a problem in Hudson County and in Newark, where it figured in a shootout Sunday night that left one user dead, one wounded and one other person injured.

A friend told police that he and 20-year-old Ibn Berger had been smoking joints laced with formaldehyde shortly before Berger began shooting people in the Seth Boyden housing complex in Newark. Berger then shot at two cops before being shot and killed himself.

Known on the street by numerous nicknames including "illy," "leek," "crazy Eddie," "wet," "amp" and "purple rain," the formaldehyde-laced marijuana, sometimes with PCP added as well, has been a problem for years, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

"It has been a recognized drug problem in Hudson County for a number of years," he said. "PCP/formaldehyde-treated marijuana is extremely potent and causes people in some cases to react in extraordinarily aberrant or violent ways."

DeFazio cited the case of William Marable, who admitted smoking marijuana laced with PCP before walking into the West District police precinct in 1999 and attacking desk officer Joe Kelly. He took Kelly's gun and shot Lt. Patrick Robinson, and then was shot by Sgt. Ed Carattini.

During his court appearance, Marable said he had smoked dipped marijuana and then had no memory of what happened next. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of assault and aggravated assault.

Such violence is typical of users of the chemical-laced pot, according to David Kerr, director of Integrity House, a Newark drug treatment center.

"It just whacks their brains out," he said. "They're smoking pot, and they dip it and they go berserk."

Integrity House admitted 69 patients who used the drug combination last year, up from 40 in 2003, Kerr said, and has recently seen an influx of patients from Hudson County looking for treatment.

Users can become paranoid and experience hallucinations, experts say.

"They scream, shout, become violent," Kerr said. "It's very unpredictable. This is very insidious because these are people who are not too centered anyway."

Cassius · 08-11-2005, 01:53 PM

While I think it's ****ed up that anyone would do that, and I think it probably ****s them up pretty bad to do it, as far as this goes:

Quote:

"They scream, shout, become violent," Kerr said.

... well, I don't trust anything authority figures tell me about drugs any more. After all, I've been lied to my whole life. I even wore the green "Just Say No" shirts in middle school!

teufelfisch · 08-11-2005, 04:32 PM

Prominently displayed at the top of a formaldehyde MSDS are the following symbols (attached).

Two points to the first one who can tell me what they mean!

Quote:

Toxicology

Causes burns. Very toxic by inhalation, ingestion and through skin absorption. Readily absorbed through skin. Probable human carcinogen. Mutagen. May cause damage to kidneys. May cause allergic reactions. May cause sensitisation. May cause heritable genetic damage. Lachrymator at levels from less than 20 ppm upwards. Very destructive of mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract, eyes and skin.

The good news is that smoked formaldehyde does not produce noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. (Whatever that means) (J. Appl. Physiology 1992 72(2):555-561)

teufelfisch · 08-11-2005, 04:48 PM

I can't find anything in the journals that supports the claim that formaldehyde causes violence. Imagine-- if it did, we'd have drugged up biologists running around shooting people!

However, the link between PCP and violence is popularly known. Interestingly, though, searches through science journals turned up nothing. I suspect the "link" was fabricated in the 70's as a result of a "reefer madness syndrome" against PCP.

"Embalming Fluid" is slang for PCP, this may have caused some confusion.

Quote:

(From Erowid)There appears to be a current trend of the use of substances known alternately by the slang names 'embalming fluid', 'fry', 'formaldehyde', 'wet', 'water', or 'amp'. These are sold in a variety of forms including cannabis joints or regular cigarettes dipped in liquid and cannabis leaf or tea leaves dipped in liquid. In all of these forms, the material is then smoked. Despite the variety of names, there is good reason to believe that these are all various preparations containing PCP.

In most instances PCP is not mentioned when the substance is sold or discussed. In fact, there are constantly re-circulating rumors that substances being sold by these names do not contain PCP, but are instead actually the fluid (formaldehyde) used for embalming as would be used in a mortuary. But there is evidence to support that this is primarily a case of confused slang terms. 'Embalming Fluid' is a common street slang term for PCP and has been for many years. PCP can come in liquid form, so the term 'fluid' is fitting. It is entirely possible (actually quite likely) that the confusion between PCP and embalming fluid (formaldehyde) has gone so far as to cause a new trend where PCP is actually mixed with formaldehye (or other 'embalming fluids') and used as a recreational psychoactive. But there is little evidence that the formaldehyde itself causes any pleasant or desirable effects.

Embalming fluid, as used in a mortuary, is traditionally made from formaldehyde. It does not contain PCP. Formaldehyde and PCP are completely different chemicals, which are not related. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen linked to nasal and lung cancer, and with possible links to brain cancer and leukemia and should not be smoked.

Yana Usdi · 08-11-2005, 05:12 PM

As far as I know the link between PCP and embalming fluid is little more than slang that's become urban legend. Back in the 70's in the DC area they sprayed it on pot and called it wack, in Southern California in the early 80's they dipped a particular brand of cigarette in it and called them sherms. The connection between it and pot is pretty thin, I've never seen anyone who was into that stuff that cared much about raw pot. It was just a convenient carrier for some.

On violence... that's tougher. Yeah, people are probably more prone to violence when on it. Drunks are more prone to it too. It doesn't cause violence so much as disorient and remove judgment and inhibitions, if you're in any way prone to acting out it may bring that to the surface. It's one of the few that I see little or no legit use for, if we did "legalize" that would probably stay in the same class as morphine and the rest are in now, medical use only as far as we can keep it that way.

ChronicSmoke7 · 08-11-2005, 05:26 PM

yea, i can say from personal experience

Quote:

It's one of the few that I see little or no legit use for

Wet weed is very harmful, i knew one guy who smoked it so much wound up almost dying and couldn't remember how to talk for a few days, wiped out his memory and part of his motor functions, major brain damage, he recovered but never compeltely
I do think the violence depends on the person, cause some of the people i knew who did it got "stuck" they would have to have been put in a violent situation before they would even move, but when your wacked on PCP violence is the name of the game.....

Higher Logic · 08-12-2005, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teufelfisch

I"Embalming Fluid" is slang for PCP, this may have caused some confusion.

I agree. It sounds like the reporter, or whoever made the claim, is also getting confused. These joints are dipped in PCP, not formaldehyde, but because people commonly call it by "embalming fluid" and/or "formaldehyde" that it confuses both the user and the person who reported this.

08-11-2005, 10:20 AM	#1
Buzzby Buddhist Curmudgeon Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 16,796 Grams: 91,121.47 Thanks: 995 Thanked 6,789 Times in 3,136 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	NJ: Joints and Formaldehyde - A Wicked, Potent Combo Joints and Formaldehyde - A Wicked, Potent Combo Michaelangelo Conte \| Jersey Journal \| 08/10/2005 The practice of dipping marijuana cigarettes in embalming fluid has been around for years. But some experts say the potent combination is becoming more of a problem in Hudson County and in Newark, where it figured in a shootout Sunday night that left one user dead, one wounded and one other person injured. A friend told police that he and 20-year-old Ibn Berger had been smoking joints laced with formaldehyde shortly before Berger began shooting people in the Seth Boyden housing complex in Newark. Berger then shot at two cops before being shot and killed himself. Known on the street by numerous nicknames including "illy," "leek," "crazy Eddie," "wet," "amp" and "purple rain," the formaldehyde-laced marijuana, sometimes with PCP added as well, has been a problem for years, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. "It has been a recognized drug problem in Hudson County for a number of years," he said. "PCP/formaldehyde-treated marijuana is extremely potent and causes people in some cases to react in extraordinarily aberrant or violent ways." DeFazio cited the case of William Marable, who admitted smoking marijuana laced with PCP before walking into the West District police precinct in 1999 and attacking desk officer Joe Kelly. He took Kelly's gun and shot Lt. Patrick Robinson, and then was shot by Sgt. Ed Carattini. During his court appearance, Marable said he had smoked dipped marijuana and then had no memory of what happened next. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of assault and aggravated assault. Such violence is typical of users of the chemical-laced pot, according to David Kerr, director of Integrity House, a Newark drug treatment center. "It just whacks their brains out," he said. "They're smoking pot, and they dip it and they go berserk." Integrity House admitted 69 patients who used the drug combination last year, up from 40 in 2003, Kerr said, and has recently seen an influx of patients from Hudson County looking for treatment. Users can become paranoid and experience hallucinations, experts say. "They scream, shout, become violent," Kerr said. "It's very unpredictable. This is very insidious because these are people who are not too centered anyway." __________________ 60% of the people of America now say we are heading toward a depression. Not a recession, a depression. We are in desperate need of profitable industries that we can tax. Um... Now can we legalize pot? ~ Bill Maher Theocracy Watch

08-11-2005, 05:12 PM	#5
Yana Usdi Dogs best friend Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 988 Grams: 14,670.05 Thanks: 1,099 Thanked 964 Times in 452 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: 0.000%	As far as I know the link between PCP and embalming fluid is little more than slang that's become urban legend. Back in the 70's in the DC area they sprayed it on pot and called it wack, in Southern California in the early 80's they dipped a particular brand of cigarette in it and called them sherms. The connection between it and pot is pretty thin, I've never seen anyone who was into that stuff that cared much about raw pot. It was just a convenient carrier for some. On violence... that's tougher. Yeah, people are probably more prone to violence when on it. Drunks are more prone to it too. It doesn't cause violence so much as disorient and remove judgment and inhibitions, if you're in any way prone to acting out it may bring that to the surface. It's one of the few that I see little or no legit use for, if we did "legalize" that would probably stay in the same class as morphine and the rest are in now, medical use only as far as we can keep it that way. __________________ "Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day." -Dan Moon Always be kind to animals, Morning, noon and night: For animals have feelings too, And furthermore, they bite. - John Gardner

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