Commentary

Concerned Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad are calling on the government through the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and other relevant government agencies to take immediate actions to combat the kush pandemic in the country through putting stringent measures in place with heavy punishable offences as the deadly situation is already getting out of hands.

Despite His Excelkency President Julius Maada Bio's declaration of national emergency in April 2024, calling kush a "death trap" and an "existential crisis," the devastating consequences of this endemic are increasingly evident in Freetown and other parts of the country.

According to the National Coordinator for the National Taskforce on Drugs and Substance Abuse in Sierra Leone, Professor Foday Sahr, "The country is currently faced with drugs and mental health challenges among young people. We are currently faced with a surge in mental health because the abuse of drugs and other substances, and centred at the abuse is the use of the synthetic drug, kush, which is ravaging our youth and communities."

He added that many teens and adults have sought emergency cases, mental health services, and other assistance due to the highly addictive drug, which is a mix of drugs including, but not limited to cannabis, fentanyl, and tramadol.

After President Bio's declaration of national emergency on kush and other substance abuse in April 2024, the police and other government agencies initially took swift actions to combat the crisis, including tightening security in cemeteries to prevent addicts from digging up skeletons from graves. But the recent surge in the abuse of deadly kush has become so alarming that Sierra Leone is now on the spotlight of drug trafficking at the global stage.

Very recently, the Mayor of Freetown announced that about 220 unidentified dead bodies were found in the capital city between January and October, an announcement that was vehemently challenged by the government.

Many concerned citizens this medium spoke to about the crisis opined that it has reached a point that the abuse of Kush has no limit, and this has to be treated by the government with all seriousness.

They appealed to the President and all relevant government agencies to urgently take the actions necessary to close the channels enabling this drug trade in the country.

Because of the rampant abuse of kush, concerned citizens have claimed that youths are dropping out of schools and universities, abandoning jobs, and sleeping rough on the streets, adding that many are turning to illegal waste collection, petty crimes l, and burglaries to fund their addiction, while others suffer from debilitating health conditions, mental illnesses, and open wounds. Most tragically, they say, lives are being lost at an alarming rate.

The alleged high rate of drug trafficking into the country and their distribution nationwide have reportedly placed Sierra Leone on the global blacklist for accommodating drug lords. Consequently, ordinary Sierra Leoneans travelling abroad are treated with suspicion at airports, much to their embarrassment.