DAKAR, Senegal — On Tuesday, an anti-crime organization released a report detailing the composition of kush, a synthetic drug that has become widespread throughout Sierra Leone and the wider region.
The report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime marks the first known analysis of kush varieties circulating within Sierra Leone and other West African countries, revealing the presence of nitazenes or synthetic cannabinoids.
Nitazenes are described as highly potent and often lethal synthetic opioids. Their rapid spread across retail drug markets globally, and particularly in European countries since 2022, has been alarming. In Estonia and Latvia, nitazenes accounted for nearly half and over a quarter of drug-related fatalities respectively in 2023. One variant of nitazenes identified in kush has been noted to be 25 times stronger than fentanyl.
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio addressed the surge of kush last year, labeling it an epidemic and a national crisis. He initiated a task force directed at drug and substance abuse, committing the government to a strategy that emphasizes prevention, treatment, law enforcement, and community cooperation.
The report points out that kush represents the initial penetration of nitazenes into West African drug markets, echoing a global trend marked by increasing nitazene-related deaths since late 2022.
Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benitez de Lugo, a contributor to the report, outlined the journey of kush into West Africa. Originally distributed as a finished product, precursor chemicals are now more frequently imported from China through online platforms like Alibaba and then synthesized in laboratories based in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. The synthesized psychoactive liquid is applied to plant material to produce the final product sold as kush.
Rumors have circulated regarding kush’s ingredients, with claims of it containing substances like tramadol or even human bones. Yet, the report clarifies that such components were not found during testing of different samples.
Since kush entered the West African retail drug scene, its popularity has surged alongside a rise in death rates linked to its consumption. The synthetic opioids and cannabinoids that characterize kush are highly addictive and have devastated Sierra Leone in recent years.
Local corruption has been fueled by kush, becoming rampant in certain Freetown neighborhoods. Establishments colloquially referred to as ‘cartels’ operate near police stations, where bar owners are sometimes tasked by police to manage their own clientele.
With rising demand for kush’s addictive elements, the report notes that overdose incidents have correspondingly increased. The adaptation of new production methods and elevated consumption has exacerbated the issue.
The report observed that nitazenes were linked to increasing overdose fatalities in the United States and were first detected by the European early warning system in 2019. Their presence has since spread across South America, Asia, and Oceania, leading to a steep rise in global detections and overdose cases.
