New Jersey legislators in the fifth district have announced a bill in the works to increase penalties for those dealers caught selling "wet" - a drug most commonly created by lacing marijuana with PCP.

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The announcement by Senator Donald Norcross and Assemblymen Angel Fuentes and Gilbert "Whip" Wilson (D-Camden/Gloucester) comes in the wake of the gruesome beheading of a two-year-old boy by his mother who then cut her own throat, and the attack on two children that left one six-year-old boy dead.

In both cases "wet" may have played a key role. Camden authorities have said users experience any range of emotions from euphoria to extreme violence.

"Handing someone wet is like handing them a time bomb without a timer - you don't know when it might go off," said Senator Norcross. "Dealers who provide this deadly combination of drugs are putting a large number of people at risk, not just the user. Most tragically, these young children have lost their lives at the hands of trusted individuals who might never have conceived of such violence had they not been under the influence of this particular drug."

"The prevalence of this drug in our city is an epidemic," said Assemblyman Fuentes. "At the same time, it is a problem across the state - three deaths in Essex County have also been tied to wet this year, and there are countless police reports throughout New Jersey involving people on wet."

The bill, which is still being drafted, will crack down on dealers providing wet by strengthening both criminal and civil liabilities against them.

"Holding drug dealers responsible for the deaths caused by individuals on wet sends the message that the drugs are not the only problem," Assemblyman Wilson added. "If you make your money distributing substances that cause harm to others, you are just as guilty as if you held the knife."

Meanwhile, a drug crackdown in Camden has led to arrest of more than 50 people this week. Police say they have given $500 awards to two tipsters who gave details that led to arrests of people selling PCP or PCP-laced marijuana.

 

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