‘Zombie’ drug made from human bones is pushing addicts to dig up graves
Police officers are being ordered to guard graveyards.
A psychoactive drug made from human bones is leaving addicts digging up graves in order to get their fix.
Police officers are guarding cemeteries in Freetown, Sierra Leone, after more people are turning to the drug Kush.
It is made from a variety of toxic substances, with one of its main ingredients is ground-up human bone.
Human remains contain traces of sulphur, which allegedly can enhance the affects of drugs.
It first emerged in the country around six years ago and induces a hypnotic high which can last for several hours.
One former user Abu Bakhar, 25, told Channel 4 News he gave up hopes of a music career as the drug turned him into a ‘zombie’.
He said: ‘Because of drugs I did not concentrate on studies. Because of drugs I did not concentrate on writing. Because of drugs I did not concentrate on anything’.
Abu is now homeless and lives on a landfill site among a thousand others.
Sierra Leone’s President Bio said: ‘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.’
One doctor from Freetown told the BBC he had seen hundreds of young men killed by organ failure caused by the drug.
Between 2020 and 2023, admissions to the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital with illnesses linked to Kush rose by 4,000%.
The president has set up a task force to eradicate the drug, which will mean having centres in every district which are ‘adequately staffed by trained professionals to offer care and support to people with drug addiction’.
Dr Abdul Jalloh, head of the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital, said Mr Bio’s emergency declaration is ‘the right step’ and will be ‘crucial in addressing drug use’.
Someone else who’s seen the effects it has, added: ‘Kush takes you to another world where you don’t know yourself.
‘It’s like it has something demonic in it. They see their friends and people around them dying and yet they still take it’.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.