Taking any illegal drug can be dangerous to one’s health and well-being. When it comes to danger, however, a street drug called Sherm is almost in a class of its own.
If you’re not familiar with the term, “Sherm” refers to marijuana cigarettes — also known as “joints” — that are covered in a hallucinogenic substance. Most often, that hallucinogen is phencyclidine, or PCP. (And tobacco cigarettes are sometimes used in Sherm rather than joints.)
However it’s made, Sherm can induce a short-term hallucinogenic state. It can give users euphoric sensations as well. But the side effects are often horrific.
Toxic, unpredictable, and highly addictive, Sherm can ruin people’s lives while also putting them in mortal peril. Making matters worse, many people mistakenly believe that Sherm is relatively harmless.
Below, we’ll look at Sherm in greater detail. And we’ll examine the tragic and lasting harm it can do to a person’s mind and body.
Table of Contents
What Is PCP (Phencyclidine)?
To start with, PCP is a synthetic substance that can act as a depressant, a stimulant, a sedative, and a hallucinogen.
PCP and the Brain
When PCP enters a person’s brain, it attaches itself to the NMDA receptors, proteins on the brain’s surface that receive chemical signals. And, when PCP inhibits the functioning of these receptors, glutamate signals get blocked.
Glutamate is a critical amino acid that helps the brain think, learn, understand, and regulate emotions. When its signals are impeded, the brain’s functioning is disrupted.
As a result, PCP can alter people’s states of consciousness and the ways in which they perceive reality. It can also make people feel dissociated, or removed, from their own thoughts, emotions, and personal identities.
PCP: A Brief History
Victor Maddox, a chemist from Michigan, developed PCP in the 1950s. And once Maddox had synthesized this powerful dissociative drug, a series of clinical trials circa 1957 deemed it safe as a surgical anesthetic.
After those trials, PCP entered the marketplace. The pharmaceutical brand Parke, Davis & Co. (which is now the Pfizer subsidiary Parke-Davis) began selling it as an intravenous anesthetic called Sernyl.
At first, Sernyl seemed like a medical breakthrough. That’s because it could anesthetize patients without harming their lungs or heart.
Soon, though, the fearsome side effects of PCP were apparent. After their surgical operations, patients would often behave erratically. Some would hallucinate and have other mind-altering effects.
In 1965, doctors stopped using PCP altogether. However, this drug didn’t go away. Instead, people began selling PCP on the street. Those who bought it would use it for its hallucinatory effects or to get an intense high.
Throughout the 1970s, PCP — often called “angel dust” — was a popular street drug. However, when crack cocaine became widely available in the 1980s, PCP usage declined.
Nevertheless, PCP misuse continues to this day. It even saw a spike during the Covid pandemic. And, these days, most people who use PCP are teenagers or young adults.
Sherm: The Combination of Marijuana and PCP
In 1930, an immigrant from Hungary named Nat Sherman launched a cigar and cigarette company in New York City. He named it after himself.
It’s likely that the original PCP-laced cigarettes were Nat Sherman cigarettes. Therefore, these mixtures became known as Sherman sticks, or “Sherm” for short.
To make a Sherm stick, a person dips a marijuana cigarette in liquified PCP. If, however, that individual is using PCP in its powdered form, the powder must first be dissolved in a chemical solvent.
Believe it or not, a solvent that’s often used to dissolve PCP is embalming fluid. Embalming fluid is the chemical mixture that funeral homes use to slow down the decomposing of a corpse. That way, the body will stay preserved until the wake and funeral are over.
The Side Effects of Sherm Use
As alluded to above, a bizarre myth about Sherm has persisted over the years. It says that this drug mixture isn’t all that dangerous.
To the contrary, Sherm can cause grave harm in many different ways.
Short-Term Effects
When people smoke Sherm, the hours and days afterwards can be tumultuous: physically, mentally, and emotionally. That’s because they’re often dealing with one or more of the following adverse effects:
- Paranoia
- Anxiety
- Intense fear and distrust
- Agitation or violent behavior
- Unpredictable and aggressive behavior, sometimes leading to violence
- Numbness
- Loss of coordination
- Difficulty speaking
- Increased heart rate
- Increased blood pressure
At high doses, PCP’s psychological effects may resemble the symptoms associated with schizophrenia, including delusions and paranoia.
Long-Term Effects
With repeated Sherm usage, a person can develop a tolerance to this drug mixture, causing them to crave more and more of it.
Not to mention, PCP can alter a person’s brain chemistry over time, leading to such severe consequences as:
- Psychosis and schizophrenia-like symptoms
- Memory loss
- Intense cravings
- Diminished ability to concentrate
- Impaired judgment
- Drug usage flashbacks
- Physical addiction
- Psychological dependence
- Increased risk of depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders
Overdose Effects
An overdose is when a drug’s toxicity overwhelms someone’s body, endangering that person’s health.
Sherm overdoses can lead to:
- Seizures
- Comas
- Respiratory failure
- Kidney failure
- Paranoia
- Severe headaches
- Irregular heartbeat
- Cardiac arrest
- Death
Embalming Fluid Hazards
For its part, embalming fluid contains a number of toxic substances, including glutaraldehyde, methanol, and formaldehyde. Thus, even apart from PCP, ingesting embalming fluid is dangerous.
- Formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and throat. And it can lead to respiratory difficulties, making it hard to obtain oxygen.
- Methanol can cause organ failure and vision loss. It can also bring about a dangerous condition called metabolic acidosis. That’s when there’s too much acid within a person’s bodily fluids.
- The alcohol ethanol, in high concentrations, can damage the liver and induce alcohol poisoning.
Seeking Help and Treatment
If you think you may be addicted to Sherm, it’s important to get help right away. Likewise, if you believe a loved one may be dependent on this drug combo, you should contact a professional treatment center without delay.
The longer a person waits to seek addiction treatment, the greater the risk of a catastrophic event. A patient could suffer a severe injury, practice self-harm, or smoke a Sherm cigarette laced with fentanyl, which frequently causes fatal overdoses.
Fortunately, wherever you live, multiple treatment options are available. For more information, you can call an addiction hotline, contact a mental healthcare professional, join support groups, or visit a treatment center.
Different types of treatment options help people address their Sherm addictions. In fact, the right combination of therapies will vary from patient to patient.
Treatment programs can include medical detox, management of withdrawal symptoms, medication prescriptions, group support sessions, and one-on-one counseling. Many patients benefit significantly from inpatient treatment, where structured care and constant support enhance recovery success.
Conclusion
If you live in or near Swansea, Ill., Illinois Recovery Center is an outstanding option for addiction treatment. This facility provides holistic, multidimensional, and personalized care for optimal outcomes.
In the end, it’s exceedingly difficult for people to overcome addiction on their own. Drugs can physically alter the brain’s self-control centers, making relapses almost inevitable, especially with a complex and powerful drug combination like Sherm.
However, with the right therapies, inpatient support, and relapse prevention strategies, patients can successfully beat their addictions. They can reclaim their lives and achieve lasting happiness.
To begin your own recovery journey, please contact Illinois Recovery Center at any time.
FAQ
What are Street names for PCP?
