Talk:Embalming fluid

NEEDS TO BE REDIRECTED TO embalming chemicals


 * Good idea. But don't just redirect it and destroy what's here.  Take the time to check if facts presented here differ or agree with those presented at embalming chemicals, and post any conflicts here to give the authors of this page a chance to see what's going on.  Refactor, but do not destroy information. --CKL

All evidence suggests that the street drug "wet" is PCP (or a related dissociative like ketamine) and that the nickname "embalming fluid" started as a cute metaphor for the effects of the drug and ended up as an urban legend. I note the external link here is to streetdrugs.org, a known anti-drug website with a quality of information so low it creates a serious risk of the sun exploding.

Yup, in fact, a quick visit to Phencyclidine confirms this. --CKL


 * That's what I always thought. When it came time to write this article, however, I did some research and kept finding pages like this:


 * National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) report


 * In the article, "In Texas, blunts are dipped in embalming fluid laced with PCP" implies that embalming fluid is involved in the process (as a solvent), but I don't see why. I found other pages stating more clearly that embalming fluid was what they were using, and a page that discussed thefts of it from mortuaries.  This is the U.S. Federal Govt. - you'd think they would know what they're talking about.


 * Nevertheless, I agree with your change. If formaldehyde had any psychoactive properties, we'd know it by now.  It's unfortunate that the government entity responsible for drug information doesn't have a clue and that they continue to push myths and legends.  But hey, look at recent FEMA failures.


 * If you watch Six Feet Under, Gabe steals a bottle of embalming fluid from the funeral home and dips blunts in them. Maybe they just got confused with the slang or something, what do you think? -mark

I'm sure there are many people on the street who believe that embalming fluid is psychoactive. And huffing it may get you high, as many solvents can do. Some may even try to steal it. Or, some fluid gets misplaced at the mortuary, they report it stolen and the cops fill in the rest. But I strongly doubt it has properties resembling PCP, or any psychoactive drug. I've never found any evidence of this, or of widespread embalming fluid use, in my study of psychoactive drugs. --CKL

Is that page on erowid a reliable source? I can only trust the other sites were written by professionals. 68.40.167.60 03:52, 24 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I think it's an acceptable cite, though I would prefer a better one. It is certainly more reliable than anything from NIDA, where errors of pharmacology, botany, and just about any other discipline you can name are a dime a dozen. --CKL


 * "Wet" is almost always tobacco sprayed with something^1, and something is almost always PCP and almost never includes formaldehyde.^2 What's with all the anonymous edits here?  Citing NIDA and streetdrugs.org?  Give me a break!
 * 1 Personal experience
 * 2 William White, personal correspondence, 1999. Also Phencyclidine and numerous other web sources. Also common sense.

merge with Embalming chemicals
Agree 100%. --CKL