Do people really smoke cigarettes laced with embalming fluid? What are the psychoactive properties of embalming fliud?
‘Embalming Fluid’ is slang for PCP, phencyclidine, a potent dissociative anesthetic which is often applied to cigarettes for easy ingestion – also known as angel dust, sherms or space base. Real embalming fluid is formalin / formic acid / formaldehyde, which is an incredibly toxic and carcinogenic compound to the human body and has no direct psychoactive properties. It causes cell death on contact, permanent blindness when ingested and much more. Formaldehyde has an acrid, overpowering medicinal smell and would be easily detected in a cigarette, whereas PCP has a mild garbage-like odor that might not be offensive. The tissue necrosis that is seen with formaldehyde is why it is a useful preservative for dead tissue. Virtually nothing (no bacteria or other life forms to break down the tissue) can live in a formaldehyde solution.
