As the polydrug kush -- also known as K2 -- increasingly threatens the public health of young Sierra Leoneans, religious and development leaders want the government to take the crisis more seriously.
The local government in Sierra Leone 's capital, Freetown, said they buried 32 young people earlier this month, most of whom died from kush-related effects.
"Kush puts our lives backwards; young men are always behind," said Abass Kamara, who added that he used to smoke two joints a day."Now it's one a day, so I will be able to abandon it. But you cannot just do so from one moment to another." But mental health experts say kush intake can lead to permanent brain damage and suicidal actions. And according to Sierra Leonean officials, in 2023, cases of drug abuse rose from 2% to 40% over a two-year period.Sierra Leone's Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Kenyeh Barlay, told DW that local investigations have found that kush is the"cheapest drug on the market."
"Not much is done about the drug barons, who are financiers of those bringing the drugs or those manufacturing the drugs within the country," Sogbandi told DW.
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