Makes possession and sale of embalming fluid a violation

BILL NUMBER:S657A

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to criminal possession and unlawful sale of embalming fluid

Purpose or general idea of bill

To prevent the recreational and danger- ous ingestion or inhalation of embalming fluid in combination with other illegal drugs.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 amends the Public Health Law by adding a definition of embalming fluid.

Section 2 amends the public health law by adding a new violation to the section of law dealing with the enforcement and discipline for funeral directors, undertakers, and embalmers. This new violation would penal- ize any funeral director, undertaker, or embalmer who sells or offers for sale embalming fluid to another person with actual knowledge that such person is not a licensed funeral director, undertaker, or embalmer, or registered student, and that such person would be using the embalming fluid for purposes outside the scope of funeral directing or embalming activities.

Section 3 establishes an effective date.

Justification

Last year in Syracuse, a couple was severely injured when they were struck head-on by an impaired driver. Before getting in the car and running down the couple, the driver had smoked a cigarette dipped in embalming fluid laced with phencyclidine (PCP), a strong hallucinogen. One of the victims of the crash spent weeks in a coma and almost lost a limb. The other victim suffered nearly serious injuries. This tragic story exemplified a rapidly growing problem: the recreation use of embalming fluid, specifically when mixed with illegal narcotics.

Embalming fluid, a chemical compound containing formaldehyde, methanol, ethanol, and other solvents, is a highly flammable poison, its purpose is to preserve the dead by making the body an unsuitable host for bacte- ria and other organisms. Although embalming fluid is a legal substance, when mixed with drugs it can produce a hallucinogenic and often violent reaction, Since it is a legal substance, the fluid is available online. The most common usage is to use the fluid in combination with Phencycli- dine (PCP) to allow the PCP to be laced with Marijuana, tobacco and other drugs. The embalming fluid acts as a solvent for the PCP.

Healthcare officials have noted an increase in the case of drugs being mixed with embalming fluid. In fact, Syracuse-area hospitals are prepar- ing to handle twice the number of embalming fluid (PCP) cases compared to last year. This bill aims to prevent such cases and other tragedies by adding a new penalty within the public health law regulating the funeral directing and embalming professions. Funeral directors and embalmers who illegally sell embalming fluid to unauthorized possessors face stiff penalties including the possible loss of their license.

Prior legislative history

2009-2010: S.7542-B / A.11509

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

On the 180th day after this bill shall become law.