In Sierra Leone, a chilling menace has emerged: a psychoactive drug concocted from human bones. Addicts desperate for their fix are resorting to grave-robbing, unearthing skeletons from cemeteries. This macabre substance, known as “kush,” contains a toxic blend of ingredients, including ground-up human bone.
The narcotic induces a hypnotic high that can linger for hours. Over the past six years, it has spread like wildfire, turning dealers into tomb raiders who plunder thousands of graves to meet the insatiable demand.
Sierra Leone has declared a national emergency to combat this haunting crisis. Police officers in Freetown now stand guard over the resting places of the dead, determined to thwart this disturbing practice of “Zombie” drug production.
Sierra Leone VS Philadelphia, USA ，Drugs are indeed outrageous, especially drugs laced with human bones.
Sierra Leone declares emergency over drug kush – made from human bones pic.twitter.com/JuukQ0jnr0— Amanda Blair（Follow the Redsparks ） (@amanda_n_blair) April 7, 2024
“Our country is currently faced with an existential threat due to the ravaging impact of drugs and substance abuse, particularly the devastating synthetic drug Kush,” Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio said, per the outlet.
He added that there had been “escalating fatalities” among the drug users. He also said that he has set up a task force to eradicate the drug. This means there will be centres in every district “adequately staffed by trained professionals to offer care and support to people with drug addiction,” he said.
Furthermore, authorities are under pressure to dismantle the drug supply chain through rigorous investigations, arrests, and prosecutions. Presently, Freetown hosts Sierra Leone’s sole operational drug rehabilitation center—a 100-bed facility hastily established within an army training center earlier this year.
However, experts have criticized it as “more of a holding center than a rehab,” citing its inadequate facilities.
Sierra Leone declares national emergency on drug abuse:
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio made the announcement during a televised address, amid growing calls from the public for more practical efforts to stop the supply of a deadly substance called 'kush'. pic.twitter.com/GLE2TFC3lh— CGTN Africa (@cgtnafrica) April 6, 2024
Dr. Abdul Jalloh, the head of the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital, lauded the President’s emergency declaration as “the right step” and emphasized its crucial role in tackling drug use.
Although an official death toll directly attributed to “kush” abuse remains elusive, a doctor in Freetown revealed to the BBC that hundreds of young men have succumbed to organ failure caused by the drug in recent months.
Notably, between 2020 and 2023, admissions to the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital surged by an alarming 4,000%, with illnesses linked to “Kush” overwhelming the healthcare system.
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