Sierra Leone declares national emergency over zombie drug 'Kush'

Sierra Leone declares national emergency over zombie drug 'Kush'

A country in West Africa declared a national emergency because many young people are addicted to a drug called kush. This drug is made from human bones. Because of their addiction, thousands of youths are digging up skeletons from graves to get intoxicated.

President Julius Maada Bio said our country is in big trouble because of drugs. He said the drug called Kush is causing a lot of damage.

President Julius Maada Bio is worried about more and more people dying because of the drug. He said they're going to put together a special group to help deal with this big problem.

The problem has gotten so bad that the government of Sierra Leone has sent lots of police officers to protect graveyards. They want to stop people from digging up skeletons. They've also put together a special group to help prevent this and support people who need help with social services.

The drug presents two risks: the user runs the risk of self-harm, and the substance is highly addictive. Another issue is the need to pay for the next dose, which is often accomplished through prostitution or criminal activity.

Being addicted to kush can make serious mental health problems worse. Some people have even had their legs swell up and get infected, causing sores, but doctors don't know why this happens. This drug can also kill people.

Right now, Freetown has the only drug rehab center in the country. It has 100 beds and was quickly set up at an army training center earlier this year. Experts say it's more like a place to keep people than a proper rehab center because it doesn't have enough good facilities.

According to experts, the big issue is that the country does not have enough jobs. They attribute the crisis to the fact that 60% of the youth do not have jobs. The publication in The Guardian reports that several other countries in West Africa also have high youth unemployment.

The drug is mainly made from human bone, which is then mixed with formaldehyde, fentanyl, tramadol, and cannabis. According to one Kush addict, the drug provides a "hypnotic high" that reportedly takes users out of reality for hours.

The drug is very cheap. One joint can cost about 5 leones (which is around Rs 19). According to a report from the Daily Mail, young people are spending as much as £8 (which is about Rs 840) each day on the drug.

The crisis is so bad that young men are stealing from homes to get money for drugs. "I sold my clothes and books to feed my addiction. Then I started stealing things from people's houses like phones, pots, and dishes to buy drugs," said one addict to The Telegraph.

Now the problem is spreading to other countries too. Guinea and Liberia, which are next to Sierra Leone, have also seen more people using kush. Guinea has already reported 10 deaths because of it.

There isn't an official count of how many people have died from using "kush," but a doctor from Freetown told the BBC that hundreds of young men have died from organ failure caused by the drug in the past few months. From 2020 to 2023, the number of people going to the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital because of problems from using Kush went up by 4,000%.

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