"FRY": Laced-Cigarettes are "Date-Rape" Hazard

Cigarettes soaked in embalming fluid have recently emerged as a form of date-rape drug. The cigarettes, commonly known as "fry," are tobacco or marijuana cigarettes “laced” (dipped) in any drug, alcohol or solvent. Common street names for the treated cigarettes include "amp," "water-water," "drank," "wetdaddy," and “french fries.”

Embalming fluid is comprised of alcohol (methanol, ethyl alcohol or ethanol), formaldehyde, and solvents. Smoking this liquid on the filter tip or within the tobacco or marijuana will vaporize the substance and the smoker inhales the mixture into the lungs. It is absorbed almost instantly and it passes directly into the brain. The effect is instant. Formaldehyde is one of the “aldehyde” compounds that are responsible for the hangover after an alcohol binge.

Sometimes, the compound used in the "fry" is PCP, or Angel Dust. These drugs add an incredible level of danger to the user: they can kill. According to a 1998 study by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, those who smoke "fry" may experience toxic psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, and unconsciousness.

Whatever substance is used to lace the cigarette, the cigarette will taste strange and have an unusual, pungent smell. Cigarettes laced with embalming fluid taste like rubbing alcohol and smell like gasoline when lit. These have the capacity to kill the user during initial intake.

A potential rapist may offer a “fry” to his targeted victim to induce giddiness or nausea, hoping the victim will accept a drink from him without thinking of the possible (intended) consequences. The perpetrator will have added another date-rape drug to her drink. Victims of sexual assault involving “fry” may have realized that the cigarette had been chemically altered but believed that it would just give them a high. They had no idea the perpetrators had given the “fry” to them to initiate the drugging process that ended with a rape.

Many southern states, including Texas, Arizona, and Florida, are reporting an increasing number of reports of “fry” use. The following information comes from an epidemiological report from the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse:

Negative effects of “fry” included feelings of panic, paranoia, disorientation, and losing consciousness: the primary reason participants indicated that “fry” should not be smoked alone. Smoking “fry” in groups did not prevent respondents from engaging in embarrassing behavior. Four participants reported taking off their clothes and running naked down the street. Intense anger was also cited: "I was hot, mad, aggravated, trying to hold back my frustration." In response to this anger, respondents reported engaging in or witnessing serious physical confrontations. A Hispanic female reporting attacking her mother with a knife while on “fry”; unable to restrain her, the young woman’s family called the police. The girl awoke two days later in the Harris County Psychiatric Center, naked, restrained, and disoriented. She told her treatment providers that she had smoked embalming fluid. As neither she nor the treatment staff likely knew that the “fry” also contained PCP, they did not prescribe anti-psychotic drugs for her, and the young woman had to endure her detoxification without assistance from prescription medication.

What are the Short-Term Effects?

The most frequently mentioned short-term effect was blurred or impaired vision, a symptom that begins during the "high" and frequently endures into the next day. One participant stated that his depth perception was so impaired that he walked right into the path of an oncoming car. Apparently, he thought he was further away from traffic than he actually was. Another short-term effect is a headache the day following “fry” consumption. According to participants, the headache is worse than one from a hangover, and more difficult to overcome. One participant of the study laughingly reported that, "After all, I know why they call it “fry”, it fries your brain!"; indeed. Increased forgetfulness the following day also was cited. This short-term memory loss was described as even more extensive than after smoking marijuana alone. Vomiting, depression, and facial/bodily edema also were reported.

What are the Long-Term Effects?

The long-term effects of smoking “fry” are not pretty. Participants recalled seeing long-term “fry” smokers who muttered to themselves as they walked in bizarre fashion. Long term “fry” users discontinue personal grooming, not caring that they are dirty and disheveled. Five adolescents reported that smoking “fry” causes brain damage; two knew friends who were in mental health/mental retardation facilities because they had overdosed on “fry.” Two additional long-term effects were that the embalming fluid "accumulates in the spinal cord" and makes the "back break down." “Fry” use can also "stop the maturation process" in those users who are not yet physically matured. Additional effects listed by the State of Connecticut include high fever, heart attacks, high blood pressure, kidney damage, destruction of muscle tissue, brain damage, coma, convulsions, coughing, pneumonia, anorexia, and death; regardless of the users age.