FLORIDA OFFICIALS WARN: KIDS USING 'HUMAN WASTE' TO GET HIGH'...
New Drug Alert! - November 5, 2007
Jenkem, Pass the doodies to the left hand side!!!
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Jenkem or
jekem is an
inhaled gas which can result in
dissociation and
hallucinations. It is made from
fermented sewage. According to Fountain of Hope, a
non-profit organization, Jenkem is used by
street children in
Lusaka,
Zambia as a substitute for ordinary inhalants such as
glue or
petrol. According to anecdotal sources and still unconfirmed media reports, Jenkem is
as of November 2007 in the process of attaining a foothold among US teenagers (see
section below).
Contents
[
hide]
[edit] Psychoactive effects
Its effects last for around an hour and consist of auditory and visual
hallucinations. A 16-year-old boy describes his preference for jenkem over other inhalants "
With glue, I just hear voices in my head. But with Jenkem, I see visions. I see my mother who is dead and I forget about the problems in my life."
[1] The raw materials are plentiful and freely available in the form of fecal matter from the open
sewers of Lusaka. This is then fermented in plastic bottles and the fumes are inhaled.
[edit] Media attention
The first media description of Jenkem came from an
Inter Press Service wire report in 1995.
[2] In 1999
BBC News then ran a story devoted to this new drug.
[1] Then in 2004 the South African weekly investigative newspaper
Mail & Guardian included the mention of Jenkem abuse in a correspondent report on the predicament of Zambia's street children.
[3] The news reports give no information as to how or when the children first began manufacturing jenkem, although Adam Tepper is rumored to have been the original supplier.
Snopes (Urban Legends Reference Pages) still has the phenomenon listed as
undetermined, however citing both a widely circulated trip report from an American teenager posted to the an online forum,
[4] and a leaked alert bulletin from the
Collier County Sherrif's Office in Naples, Florida which asserts that Jenkem has attained popularity in American schools.
[5]
[edit] Mainstream media picking up on western use
On November 3, 2007, immediately following the publication of the Snopes report which included the leaked memo from Collier County Sherrif's Office, two mainstream media outlets, television station
KIMT of
Mason City, Iowa[6] and
WINK NEWS,
[7] a
Fort Myers, Florida broadcaster, reported on the rumours of Jenkem being a new hallucinogenic drug among American high school students. According to WINK News, Collier County Sheriff's Office confirms having issued the drug alert.
[edit] References