When the drug of choice is a drug of confusion: embalming fluid use in inner city Hartford, CT

• Published in: Journal of ethnicity in substance abuse Vol. 4; no. 2; p. 73
• Main Authors: Singer, Merrill, Mirhej, Greg, Shaw, Susan, Saleheen, Hassan, Vivian, James, Hastings, Erica, Rohena, Lucy, Jennings, DeShawn, Navarro, Juhem, Santelices, Claudia, Wu, Alan H B, Smith, Andrew, Perez, Alberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 2005
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - transmission; Adolescent; Adult; Black or African American; Black People - psychology; Black People - statistics & numerical data; Connecticut; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug Contamination - statistics & numerical data; Drug Interactions; Embalming; Ethnicity - psychology; Ethnicity - statistics & numerical data; Female; Formaldehyde - adverse effects; Formaldehyde - supply & distribution; Health Surveys; Hispanic or Latino - psychology; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Illicit Drugs - adverse effects; Illicit Drugs - supply & distribution; Incidence; Male; Phencyclidine - adverse effects; Phencyclidine Abuse - epidemiology; Phencyclidine Abuse - ethnology; Phencyclidine Abuse - psychology; Risk Assessment; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Substance-Related Disorders - ethnology; Substance-Related Disorders - psychology; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data; White People - psychology; White People - statistics & numerical data; Connecticut
• ISSN: 1533-2640
• DOI: 10.1300/J233v04n02_04

This paper examines the use of a new illicit drug--embalming fluid mixtures--in Hartford, CT based on a recent assessment of drug consumption in an outreach-recruited sample of 242 not-in-treatment active drug users. Sociodemographic, drug use, and health and social problems of drug users who do and do not use embalming fluid mixture are presented, revealing some notable differences between these two groups of street drug users. Despite regular consumption, we report that embalming fluid mixture users are often uncertain about what is in this new drug, despite experiencing often powerful effects. Urine toxicology findings from a subsample of individuals who used embalming fluid mixtures in the last 48 hours, reveal the frequent presence of phencyclidine (PCP) as well as other drugs. The public health implications of this new wave of PCP use are assessed.