In Sierra Leone, a grave crisis is unfolding as a cheap, synthetic drug known as “kush” devastates the youth population. The streets of Freetown’s Bombay suburb are lined with young people ensnared in addiction, highlighting a dire need for effective healthcare and addiction services. In response, the community has taken matters into its own hands by establishing a makeshift treatment center run by volunteers.
This volunteer-run center in Bombay began informally when locals intervened to help a young man addicted to kush. After traditional methods of persuasion failed, they resorted to locking him in a room for two months. The drastic measure was successful, and the young man has since returned to university. Encouraged by this outcome, volunteers took over an abandoned building and adapted it into a treatment facility. Here, individuals struggling with addiction are sometimes restrained to prevent escape, reflecting the severe measures the community feels forced to adopt due to the lack of professional facilities.
The center is continuously overwhelmed, often turning away parents seeking help for their children due to space constraints. Community members contribute by providing food and water, and a local doctor visits occasionally, but the resources are scant. The police have expressed unawareness of the center’s operations and the controversial methods employed.
Since its inception, the Bombay Community center has treated between 70 to 80 individuals, including teenagers as young as 13. The conditions are harsh, with minimal comfort against the concrete surroundings, and the treatment primarily involves managing withdrawal symptoms without any structured rehabilitation programs.
Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, has declared a war on kush, labeling it as an epidemic and a national threat. He has initiated a task force focusing on drug and substance abuse with a strategy that emphasizes prevention and community engagement. This move indicates the government’s recognition of the profound impact this crisis has on the nation’s youth and its future.
The primary challenge in addressing this epidemic is the unknown composition of kush. Often mixed with synthetic drugs like fentanyl and tramadol, and even substances as hazardous as formaldehyde, users are generally unaware of the drug’s contents. Some reports even suggest extreme additives like ground bones from graves, pointing to the dangerous lengths to which individuals will go to sustain their supply.
The social consequences of kush addiction are severe, contributing to increased school dropouts, health deterioration, and a rise in crime. Families are torn apart, and the social fabric of communities is under severe strain. Ansu Konneh, who directs mental health at the Ministry of Social Welfare and oversees the country’s first public drug rehabilitation center, opened in February, describes the situation as causing not just individual but communal trauma.
Organizations like the Social Linkages For Youth Development And Child Link are working hard to combat this issue. They employ former users to educate young people about the dangers of drug use, but the fight is uphill. The local production of kush complicates efforts, as it requires targeting the upper levels of the supply chain rather than just the users.
In a country that has battled pandemics like Ebola and COVID-19, the kush epidemic poses a comparable threat by undermining the potential of its young population. Without effective interventions and sustained support, the future workforce of Sierra Leone faces a bleak outlook, marred by the ongoing challenges of drug addiction and its devastating aftermath.
Dark Blue = Location in Africa where Sierra Leone is located.
Image is in the public domain and was created by Alvaro1984.
