Since 2022, Kush, a strong artificial drug with a hazardous and unpredictable combination of ingredients, has spread across West Africa, producing catastrophic health consequences and quite possibly claiming thousands of lives. First appearing in Sierra Leone, kush soon extended to nearby countries including Liberia, Guinea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. By April 2024, the state of affairs had gotten to the point where the presidents of Sierra Leone and Liberia proclaimed national emergencies—an unheard-of step in reaction to drug usage in the area. Chemical tests performed in conjunction with officials in Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau found ultra-powerful synthetic opioids sometimes more potent than fentanyl—nitazenes—and synthetic cannabinoids.
Rising overdose statistics in Europe and the U. S. have been connected to these compounds, which are currently wreaking havoc in West Africa, where healthcare infrastructure is ill-fitted to manage such a catastrophe. Key issues regarding kush—what it is? where does it come from? and how it is trafficked—are discussed in a recent study called “Kush in Sierra Leone: West Africa’s Growing Synthetic Drugs Challenge” by Lucia Bird Ruiz Benitez de Lugo (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime – GI-TOC) and Dr. Kars de Bruijne (Clingendael Institute). Using chemical testing and field studies, the report/study offers the first evidence-based narrative of the kush epidemic.
The study shows that kush components enter West Africa via shipping lines and postal services; China, the Netherlands, and maybe the United Kingdom are named as origin or transit countries. Emphasizing that all three share some accountability for the effect of the drug in West Africa, Dr. de Bruijne pointed out that 50% of kush samples examined, had nitazenes per the report.
Apart from its deadly chemical composition, kush signals a significant change in the drug environment of the area. Its market has split into smaller, dispersed production and distribution networks and grown swiftly. The speed and scope of this expansion, together with the severe health effects, signal a turning point in West Africa’s fight with synthetic drugs. With its youth and underfunded healthcare systems, West Africa is particularly sensitive, according to Lucia Bird: “The influx of cheap, addictive, and extremely dangerous synthetic drugs heralds a long-term crisis.”
The report provides a three-pronged solution to solve this escalating crisis:Create an evidence-based reaction by enhancing regional information-sharing systems, early warning systems, chemical testing, and monitoring. Target production centers in China, the Netherlands, and the UK while raising awareness of maritime ports, airports, and postal services to disrupt global supply chains. Reduce damage by increasing public awareness, preventative programs, treatment access, and accessibility of opioid overdose-reversal medications.
Particularly in Sierra Leone, Kush has created widespread addiction and death. Its market is getting increasingly distributed and enlarging. Effective worldwide and regional action is urgently needed.
