November 7, 2007

Earlier today, I read about the newest “drug” - Jenkem - making its way through the channels here in the US. At first I was astounded, and then disgusted.

Taken straight from the Wikipedia:

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 teenager.

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.” 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.

The first media description of Jenkem came from an Inter Press Service wire report in 1995. In 1999 BBC News then ran a story devoted to this new drug. 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. The news reports give no information as to how or when the children first began manufacturing jenkem. 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, 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.

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 and WINK NEWS, a Fort Myers, Florida broadcaster, reported on the rumors 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. On November 6, Washington Post columnist Emil Steiner in his OFF/beat blog comments on the Collier Sheriff’s Office memo, the Snopes report and the WINK-TV news story apparently introducing his own contamination of the story by reporting the origin of Jenkem to be “Africa and other third world countries.” Steiner goes on to report that “a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency insists that ‘there are people in America trying [Jenkem].’” The unnamed DEA spokesman stated that the agency had yet to test Jenkem, however volunteering a theory that “hallucinations from methane fumes” are involved. He also labeled any use of Jenkem “dangerous, bad and stupid.

-Sources: Wikipedia, BBC News, New York Times, Mail & Guardian, Associated Press, Snopes, KIMT.

Snorting shit has taken on a whole new meaning. Literally. And the fish thought they had it bad!

Wonder if the sale of garlic has increased? Need something strong to get rid of that taste (according to the reports).

Ok, seriously though - kids. Do I really need to stress the importance of staying away from this one? Common sense, buddies - exercise some common sense. There ain’t no rationale that would justify that level of curiosity. Just DON’T do it!

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