A psychoactive drug crafted from human bones is leaving addicts in the West African country of Sierra Leone digging up graves in order to get their fix. According to the BBC, this haunting menace has forced Sierra Leone to declare a national emergency. Police officers in Freetown are guarding cemeteries to thwart the disturbing practice of exhuming skeletons for the “Zombie” drug production. Notably, the drug, dubbed “kush”, is made from a variety of toxic substances, with one of its main ingredients being ground-up human bone.
The narcotic first emerged in the West African country around six years ago. According to the outlet, it induces a hypnotic high which can last several hours. The drug has become a widespread problem and dealers have reportedly turned into grave robbers, breaking into thousands of tombs to steal skeletons to keep up with the demands.
“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.
Mr Bio 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.
Moreover, officials have also been urged to break the drug supply chain by “investigations, arrests and prosecutions”.
Currently, Freetown is home to the country’s only functioning drug rehabilitation centre. The 100-bed facility was hurriedly set up in an army training centre earlier this year. Experts have reportedly described it as “more of a holding centre than a rehab” because of its lack of adequate facilities.
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Dr Abdul Jalloh, head of the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital, said that the President’s emergency declaration is “the right step” and will be “crucial in addressing drug use”.
There is no official death toll linked to “kush” abuse, but one doctor from Freetown told the BBC that hundreds of young men had died from organ failure caused by the drug in recent months. Between 2020 and 2023, admissions to the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital with illnesses linked to Kush rose by 4,000%.
