What is marijuana wax? 7 things you may not know about dabs, shatter and honey oil

The arrest of a Montville man by Mendham police last week netted drugs and cash, including marijuana wax. Wax, a more potent form of marijuana, is being encountered by police departments across the state more often but pro-marijuana advocates say concerns are unfounded. (Mendham Police Department)

By Fausto Giovanny Pinto 

Police and health officials warned last month about the dangers of marijuana wax, also known as honey oil, shatter and dabs.

"Marijuana wax is not marijuana," warned Bruce Ruck, director of the Drug Information Services at New Jersey Poison Control. "There is an extremely bad hallucinatory side effect."

But pro-marijuana advocates in the Garden State say they are dumbfounded by recent warnings raised by officials over a more potent form of the drug.

"You can't overdose or kill yourself but it can be stronger for novice users," said Chris Goldstein, a Willingboro resident who writes a cannabis column for Philly.com "You will never see an overdose death from marijuana or hash oil."

In nearly 200 comments, NJ Advance Media readers also doubted the warnings.

"There is an image problem with wax," said Justin Albert, a Livingston attorney who advocates for the normalization of marijuana in New Jersey. "It is unregulated now but as we move towards a legitimate process you can buy it clean."

The potency of the drug may be debatable, but here are 7 more things you may not have known about concentrated pot, including wax pot:
• You can overdose on concentrates, although it is not fatal, Kevin Hill, a physician at Harvard Medical School said.
• Concentrated forms of marijuana have existing for at least 5,000 years, wax is just the latest type, Goldstein said.
• There were 187 instances were wax was seized in 2015 throughout the state, an increase from 104 in 2014, State Police spokeswoman Trooper Alina Spies said.
• Wax can sell for up to $45 a gram on the street, compared to $20 to $60 for an eighth of an ounce, roughly 3.5 grams, of plant marijuana depending on the quality, Goldstein said.
• Like any drug, people can get addicted from marijuana use, including the use of wax and other concentrates, Hill said.
• Some form of hash oil has always been around the New Jersey area, pot wax has come into vogue in the last two years because of ease of concealment and being odorless, Goldstein said.
• Concentrates are currently not available for consumption for medical marijuana users in New Jersey, according to the New Jersey Department of Health, which regulates the medical marijuana program.
The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act allows those with certain aliments to purchase marijuana at one of five alternative care centers in the state when given the approval of a doctor. The program does not allow for the sale of wax or oil.
New York's medical marijuana program, however, is the complete opposite. The program does not allow plant-based marijuana, only pills and oils that can be vaporized.