The strange, sordid, and largely fabricated story of the street drug called jenkem

Health · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Jenkem, an inhalant supposedly made from fermented human waste, became the center of a massive American moral panic in 2007. Despite widespread media coverage and warnings from local authorities, experts and drug enforcement agencies found no evidence of its use in the United States, tracing the hysteria to a hoax.

Jenkem originated in South Africa and gained notoriety in the 1990s among street children in Lusaka, Zambia. The substance is created by collecting human excreta in containers, sealing them, and allowing the mixture to ferment for about a week. Users inhale the resulting gases, which are said to produce auditory and visual hallucinations. Zambian officials have noted that while the practice exists, it is less common than glue-sniffing, with users claiming it provides warmth and fearlessness.

The American obsession with jenkem began in November 2007, fueled by an internal bulletin from the Collier County Sheriff's Department in Florida. This bulletin relied on a post from an internet forum user named Pickwick, who later admitted the entire account was a hoax. Despite this, various news outlets and local law enforcement agencies across the country amplified the story, leading to widespread concern among parents and school officials. Some media reports even advised parents to inspect their children's breath and check toilets for suspicious bottles.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and organizations like Erowid and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found no confirmed reports of jenkem use in the United States. Experts suggest that the physiological effects of inhaling such gases—if attempted—would likely result in hypoxia, a dangerous lack of oxygen to the body, rather than a reliable high. While some cities later amended ordinances to cover organic inhalants, the consensus among researchers is that the American jenkem phenomenon was a classic example of a moral panic driven by faulty internet research and sensationalist media coverage.

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