Kush is a "specific type of cannabis" originating from the "Hindu Kush mountain" on the border between Afghanistan and India, according to Ernest Claude Farma, RUDN med student and leader of the Health Focus Arena (HEFA) organization.
"The Kush is smuggled into Sierra Leone. It's a synthetic chemical. It is 100 times more deadly than the natural marijuana, that is jamba in my local dialect," Ernest explains.
To enhance the psychedelic effect of the drug, locals began to use "human bones" by grinding them into a fine powder and adding it to the mixture.
"When they scrape this bone, they add it to the Kush, the synthetic chemical [...] and then they smoke it," he says.
The health consequences are quite dreadful, ranging from "deranged kidney function", "leg ulcers" as well as liver problems, according to Dr. Davida Sesay, medical doctor and CEO of Health Focus Arena.
"You have a lot of these people coming down with leg ulcers, very bad labels. At the end of the day, they have sepsis and they die. Most times they also have kidney problems because the metabolism of such drugs, the liver and the kidney, are responsible for metabolism, especially the liver, but most times they come with kidney pathologies, the doctor explains.
She urges the government to put effort into identifying the importers of the drug. A "drastic measure" is absolutely necessary, according to the healthcare professional.
"We need to start by finding out all the suppliers and then attacking because for every problem, even in medicine, you have to attack the root of the problem. You cannot attack the branches," Dr. Sesay states.
To hear what else the Sierra Leoneans had to say, check out the entire episode of the AfroVerdict podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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