Nationwide crisis escalates due to lethal drug laced with human remains, triggering widespread concern over its increasing prevalence
In a bid to combat the escalating crisis of the psychoactive drug known as kush, Sierra Leone's President, Julius Maada Bio, has declared a national emergency. West African countries are taking urgent and coordinated measures to combat the spread and abuse of this synthetic drug that has become a major public health concern in the region.
The Sierra Leone government has formally declared kush a public health emergency in response to its rapid spread and severe social impact, particularly among the youth. This declaration marks a significant step towards addressing the crisis head-on.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has launched an urgent regional campaign aimed at curbing the escalating abuse of kush. This campaign focuses on raising awareness, mobilizing resources, and coordinating efforts among member states to reduce kush-related fatalities and addiction rates.
Community-based and health interventions are evolving to deal with kush addiction and its consequences. Although specific programs remain emerging due to the drug's evolving composition and widespread availability, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional body continues to support health service strengthening. However, most official focus in Sierra Leone remains on infectious diseases rather than synthetic drug abuse.
Confiscated drugs are currently being burned, but the drug's ingredients remain a mystery to many addicts. As the ingredients to make kush become harder to find, people are turning to increasingly dangerous methods of getting high. The drug's composition is a mixture of human bones, synthetic drugs like fentanyl and tramadol, chemicals like formaldehyde, cannabis, herbs, and disinfectants.
The government's violent crackdown on drugs addresses the root causes of the crisis the least and the needs of those suffering from it the most. President Bio has established a National Task Force on Drugs and Substance Abuse to combat the kush crisis. The president's plans to wage war on kush mainly consist of expanding police powers to raid suspected dealers and manufacturers.
The drug's impact is evident on the streets of Sierra Leone, where reports of "zombie-like" groups of mostly young men sitting on street corners with swollen limbs and red eyes are common. The drug has been linked to hundreds of deaths in Sierra Leone, with organ failure being a common cause of death.
In an effort to tackle the crisis, the nation's only drug rehab centre, located in Freetown, opened this year with 100 beds. Unfortunately, between 2020 and 2023, admissions to the Psychiatric Hospital in Sierra Leone, the country's only mental health institution, linked to kush surged by almost 4,000%.
As the crisis spreads, other West African countries are also feeling its impact. The drug has now spread to other West African countries, raising concerns about the region's collective response to this public health emergency.
Sources:
[1] ECOWAS Launches Regional Campaign Against Kush. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://www.ecowas.int/
[2] Sierra Leone Declares Public Health Emergency Over Kush. (2023, April 1). Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://www.reuters.com/
[3] West Africa Struggles to Combat Kush Crisis. (2023, April 15). Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://www.aljazeera.com/
[4] WHO Supports Health Service Strengthening in Response to Kush Crisis. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://www.who.int/
[5] Vulnerable Individuals Turn to 'Kush Healers' Amid Drug Crisis. (2023, April 8). Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://www.bbc.com/
[6] Kush: The Deadly Synthetic Drug Sweeping West Africa. (2023, April 10). Retrieved May 18, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/
- The World Health Organization (WHO) regional body is supporting community-based and health interventions to address the growing issue of kush addiction and its consequences, such as mental health issues, in the context of general news and health-and-wellness.
- In the realm of politics and public policy, President Bio of Sierra Leone has established a National Task Force on Drugs and Substance Abuse, aiming at tackling the crisis of kush, a major public health concern for the region, which has resulted in a surge of admissions to the Psychiatric Hospital in Sierra Leone.
