By Ishmael Dumbuya
It was a cloudy Saturday evening when all of a sudden a young man that lives around Hastings started running from nothing, claiming that he could not stay under the sky as it was about to fall on him. He ran into almost every house in the community seeking refuge. After approximately 35 minutes he became okay and came back to his senses- what a catastrophe!
The impact of Kush intake has one way or the other debilitated the mental stability and wellness of Sierra Leone’s youthful population.
This pseudo-Cannabis substance that is circulating in Sierra Leone and other West African Countries has immensely crippled the psychological potentials of Sierra Leoneans.
According to a medical expert on BBC, Kush, sometimes referred to as K2 or Spice is a mix of plant matter sprayed with an ever-changing host of chemicals, in sometimes dangerously high proportions. The original formula was invented by a chemist who had no idea that his medical research papers, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, would be used to mass market dangerous drugs around the world.
This mayhem has deeply eaten into the rubrics of the country and it possesses hosts of side effects. It hallucinating power is so strong making one start to think of or imagine things that have never existed.
The problem is also becoming serious in neighboring Conakry. I was appalled to see a young man after having smoked the drug started swallowing his tongue, and his tongue was clipped with scissors for it not to be swallowed in a hospital in ‘Matoto.’
I also burst into laughter when a resident of my community, nicknamed ‘King’ stripped himself naked and started yelling that we call the police.
So, if this drug intake becomes monumental in the country, how will the youthful population look like in the future?
It also shocking to note that it can at times result to death. A young man was killed in an accident at Tower Hill sometimes ago after having smoked the drug. He was hit by the vehicle while trying to cross the road.
The aforementioned are all indications that it’s no longer a child’s play and concrete mechanisms need to be instituted in order to deal with this scourge.
What will our young ones inherit from us in terms of mental stability and wellness in the future?
Authorities and stakeholders need to mobilize and prevent the spread of this ‘disease’ before it too late.
Authorities must stop the importation of the drug and the chemicals used in formulating it especially at Water Quay where thorough monitoring should be done.
How will one want to sleep on the street standing if his okay? Kush has made nodding on the streets of Freetown the new normal.
