Jenkem
Overview
Inhalant
Inhalants are a broad range of drugs whose volatile vapors are taken in via the nose and trachea. They are taken by volatilization, and do not include drugs that are inhaled after burning or heating...
created from fermented human waste
Human waste
Human waste is a waste type usually used to refer to byproducts of digestion, such as feces and urine. Human waste is most often transported as sewage in waste water through sewerage systems...
. In the mid-1990s, it was reported to be a popular street drug among Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
n street children.
In November 2007, anecdotal American media reports created the wrong impression that jenkem was a popular drug among American teenagers. Several sources reported that the increase in American media coverage was based on a hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
and "on faulty Internet research
Internet research
Internet research is the practice of using the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, for research. The internet is widely used and readily accessible to hundreds of millions of people in many parts of the world. It can provide practically instant information on most topics, and has a profound...
."
In the book Chidren of AIDS: Africa's Orphan Crisis by Emma Guest, the making of jenkem is described: "fermented human sewage, scraped from pipes and stored in plastic bags for a week or so, until it gives off numbing, intoxicating fumes." The process is similarly described in a 1995 IPS
Inter Press Service
Inter Press Service is a global news agency. Its main focus is the production of independent news and analysis about events and processes affecting economic, social and political development....
report: "Human excreta is scooped up from the edges of the sewer ponds in old cans and containers which are covered with a polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
bag and left to stew or ferment for a week." A 1999 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
article refers to "the dark brown sludge, gathering up fistfuls and stuffing it into small plastic bottles.
Unanswered Questions
