“Dip” most commonly refers to a marijuana joint or tobacco cigarette that has been soaked in liquid PCP (phencyclidine), then dried and smoked. The practice gives the drug its street names: dippers, fry, wet, sherm, and embalming fluid. PCP is a powerful dissociative drug that distorts perception, blocks pain, and can trigger violent, unpredictable behavior. It is a Schedule II controlled substance under federal law.
How Dip Is Made and Used
Liquid PCP is the base. A regular cigarette or marijuana joint gets dipped into it, soaked briefly, and then dried. Once lit, the PCP vaporizes along with the tobacco or cannabis, delivering the drug rapidly through the lungs and into the bloodstream. Some users also spray liquid PCP onto dried plant material instead of dipping.
The term “embalming fluid” causes real confusion. It sometimes refers to actual formaldehyde-based embalming fluid, which some users believe enhances the high or serves as a solvent for PCP. In many cases, though, “embalming fluid” is simply slang for liquid PCP itself. Either way, inhaling these chemicals is extremely dangerous. Other street names for PCP combinations include “wet” and “zoom” (PCP with marijuana), “whack” or “space” (PCP with cocaine), and “black acid” (PCP with LSD).
What PCP Does to the Brain
PCP blocks a specific type of receptor in the brain responsible for learning, memory, and pain signaling. When these receptors are shut down, the result is a dissociative state where users feel detached from their body and surroundings. At the same time, PCP floods the brain’s reward center with dopamine, the chemical tied to pleasure and motivation. This combination of dissociation and dopamine release is what makes the drug feel rewarding and creates the potential for repeated use.
Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that PCP’s rewarding effects come primarily from its ability to disrupt normal signaling in the brain’s reward circuitry, specifically by inhibiting certain neurons in a region called the nucleus accumbens. This disruption is powerful enough to drive compulsive drug-seeking behavior on its own, independent of dopamine.
Effects of Smoking a Dipper
The experience varies dramatically depending on the dose, which is nearly impossible to control with a dipped cigarette. A light dose can produce numbness, euphoria, and a floating sensation. A heavier dose can cause complete detachment from reality. Users often report feeling invincible, which leads to dangerous behavior like walking into traffic, jumping from heights, or becoming aggressive toward others.
Common effects include:
- Hallucinations that can be vivid and terrifying
- Distorted perception of time, space, and body size
- Numbness and reduced pain sensitivity
- Slurred speech and loss of coordination
- Rapid eye movements from side to side
- Agitation or violent outbursts
The duration depends on how much PCP was absorbed, the user’s body size, and whether other substances were involved. Because dipping a cigarette delivers an inconsistent dose, users can easily cross from a mild high into a medical emergency without realizing how much they consumed.
Overdose and Serious Risks
PCP overdose is a medical emergency. The line between a “recreational” dose and a toxic one is thin, especially with dipped cigarettes where concentration varies from one batch to the next. Signs of overdose include seizures, a catatonic state where the person cannot speak or move, dangerously high blood pressure, psychosis, uncontrolled movements, and coma.
PCP-related psychosis deserves special attention. Some users experience a break from reality that lasts hours or even days after the drug should have worn off. This can look like severe mental illness, with paranoid delusions, disorganized thinking, and extreme agitation. In emergency departments, patients in PCP psychosis sometimes need to be physically restrained to protect themselves and medical staff.
Long-term use carries additional risks. Repeated PCP exposure is associated with persistent memory problems, difficulty with speech and thinking, depression, and weight loss. Some users develop psychological dependence, craving the dissociative state despite obvious harm to their lives.
Dip vs. Dipping Tobacco
The word “dip” also refers to smokeless tobacco, a completely different product. Dipping tobacco (brands like Copenhagen or Skoal) is moist, shredded tobacco placed between the lip and gum. While the health risks are real, including oral cancer and nicotine addiction, this is not what people typically mean when they refer to “dip” as a street drug.
Smokeless tobacco contains cancer-causing compounds including tobacco-specific nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and various metals. Nicotine content in conventional moist snuff ranges from about 1 to 9 mg per gram of product. Users who try to quit experience withdrawal symptoms within 4 to 24 hours of their last dose, peaking around day two or three. Cravings, irritability, trouble sleeping, and increased appetite are the most common complaints, and symptoms generally fade over three to four weeks.
Legal Status of PCP
PCP is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance by the DEA, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and severe psychological or physical dependence. Manufacturing, distributing, or possessing PCP carries serious federal penalties. Possessing a dipped cigarette counts as PCP possession, not simply tobacco or marijuana possession, which significantly increases the legal consequences.