The drug first appeared in the West African country six years ago. (representative picture)
A psychoactive drug made from human bones is causing addicts to dig graves in the West African country of Sierra Leone in an attempt to detoxify.according to British Broadcasting CorporationThis lingering threat forced Sierra Leone to declare a national emergency. Police in Freetown are guarding a cemetery to stop the disturbing practice of exhuming bones for “zombie” drug production. It’s worth noting that the drug, known as “kush,” is made from a variety of toxic substances, one of its main ingredients being ground human bone.
The narcotic first appeared in the West African country about six years ago. It is reported to produce a hypnotic euphoria that lasts for several hours. The drug has become such a widespread problem that drug dealers have reportedly turned into grave robbers, breaking into thousands of graves to steal skeletons to satisfy demand.
Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio said: “Our country currently faces an existential threat due to the devastating effects of drugs and substance abuse, particularly the devastating synthetic drug Kush.”
Mr Bio added that the “death toll” among drug users is “rising.” He also said he had set up a task force to eradicate the drug. He said this would mean centers in each region “staffed with enough trained professionals to provide care and support to people with drug addiction”.
Officials are also urged to disrupt the drug supply chain through “investigations, arrests and prosecutions.”
Currently, Freetown is home to the only functioning drug rehabilitation center in the country. The 100-bed facility was hastily set up at an Army training center earlier this year. Experts reportedly described it as “more like a detention center than a rehabilitation center” due to a lack of adequate facilities.
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Dr Abdul Jallow, director of the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital, said the president’s emergency declaration was “the right step” and “vital in tackling drug abuse”.
There has been no official death toll linked to Kush abuse, but a doctor in Freetown told the BBC that hundreds of young people had died in recent months from organ failure caused by the drug. Admissions to Sierra Leone’s psychiatric hospitals for Kush-related illnesses increased by 4,000% between 2020 and 2023.
