Zombies Drug in Sierra Leone country

The West African country has declared a national emergency after addiction to a drug made from human bones led thousands of youths to dig up skeletons.

Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio has issued a national emergency amid growing demands of his administration to take action against an unprecedented growth in the use of a synthetic drug called Kush. The government claims that since it first surfaced in Sierra Leone, the extremely addictive concoction of substances has resulted in hundreds of fatalities and dozens of addicts with mental health issues.

In a late-night countrywide broadcast on April 4, President Bio declared a national emergency, referring to the drug as a “death trap” and stating that it presented an “existential crisis.”

“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.”

Notably, the nation has one of the worst rates of young unemployment in West Africa, at 60%.

Several people who spoke with the British daily The Guardian recounted horrific accounts of human bones being ground into kush, and although this is yet to be confirmed, local media reported gravedigging arrests for this reason.

Where the drug is found

Substance trafficking is made simple by the open land borders that countries like Guinea and Liberia share with Sierra Leone.

As per The Conversation, a single Kush joint may be purchased for around five leones (₹2087) and can be utilised by two or three individuals. In a single day, up to 40 joints can be ingested.