Jenkem

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. The news reports give no information as to how or when the children first began manufacturing jenkem. The first report in the media about Jenkem came from an Inter Press Service wire report in 1995. In 1999 BBC News then ran a story devoted to this new drug. 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 TOTSE Better Living Through Chemistry forums, and a purportedly leaked alert bulletin from the Collier County Sherrif's Office in Naples, Florida which asserts that Jenkem has attained popularity in American schools.

Psychoactive effects

Its effects last for around an hour and consists 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." 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. In Georgia However a young man named Andy Hedrick says once you get past the initial smell it was like sniffing a scented candle the effect happens so quick. He also states that his problems go away and when he is in his extreme high he favors George Bush as president and has conversations with him.

External links

• "In Zambia, the Abandoned Generation" New York Times, 1998 ("Jekem" mentioned in passing)
• "African Children Orphaned by AIDS" Associated Press, 1999 ("Jekem" mentioned in passing)