By- Aruna Rashed Toma Bangura
Kush has massively derailed the lives and well-being of Sierra Leone’s youthful population to a large extent that it has now resulted into addicts having sores, swollen feet and the sort out of the excessive intake of these harmful substances.
The substance called Kush became rampant among youths just after the new government was ushered in, but many believed that the substance was in country during the APC regime but was not that too rampant as it has been now and hindering the lives of nearly 80% of the youthful population.
Many believed that Kush has devastating effects on the lives of youths that has helped to render them useless and hopeless by its everyday use among them. Kush is a substance that is originated from the Middle East and was later transferred to the United States of America where it gained its popularity by end users of the product. The drug Kush is a laboratory test and it is widely known as a synthetic marijuana or fake weed and has largely taken its toll in this part of West Africa specifically Sierra Leone where its excessive use by both male and female users of this inimical substance has hampered the growth of the lives of Sierra Leoneans young as well as old.
Surprisingly, it may behooves readers to learn that the drug Kush is not only being abused by the informal sector, nearly 60% of the formal sector ranging from Legal and Medical practitioners, Bank workers and so forth are largely influenced by this drug and because of its odourless smell, the drug is taken in offices and other hideout places. The drug has high craving that will lead one to smoke it the rest of the day caring less about its negative impacts on their health status.
In an interview with this writer, one of the addicts, Thomas Musa, not his real, name explained his ordeals about how Kush has drastically sunk his career in life, adding that he used to stay with his wife and two daughters and was managing his little income to take care of his nuclear family until he got himself involved in taking Kush. He continued that he first started to take one Kush per day due to the abnormality of the substance and this will make to sleep for the rest of the day, adding that he was taking it secretly so that his wife could not know that he has got himself involved. Thomas Musa furthered that as he became addictive to Kush, he became lax in most of his responsibilities towards his family as what he used to do for his two lovely daughters he could no longer did. “Me wef begin for notice me smol smol ehn wan day ol e ask me say watin mek now ar dea late for return home after work?” and according to him he told his wife that his Bossman has given more works to him and this he said kept him in the office for longtime. Musa disclosed that his wife at one time when laundering his clothes found some cigarettes jots and rizzler inside one his trousers pocket but she did make any comment at the time as she was still busy with her observation. He carried on that it was one Sunday morning after they had all prepared to go to church that his wife sat him down and told him that she has found some cigarette jots and other elements linked to the taking of Kush but said she only advise him to refrain from whatever bad habits he has been involved into, adding that he was surprised but did not say a word because he knew that his wife was correct.
According to this Kush addict, he started appearing late for work because after taking Kush he had to sit for a while to reduce the friction and mostly will sit for up to two hours before moving to his work place and people around the community were gossiping to his wife about how he has been engaged in this bad life by hanging around with all sort of guys around the community instead of going for work. Musa lamented that his wife got tired with his habit of taking Kush because he hardly spent time with his family and said that during the time his wife wanted to have serious discussions with him in relation to the household, he will be busy nodding and will pay less attention to her and there was not even any time for intimacy between the couple. He added that his wife has to leave the house because he was no longer responding to his responsibilities as a father and husband and his two daughters regularly cried to him to abstain from the heinous act but said he that he was suffering from addiction and the craving for Kush has made to loss his lucrative job and has even sold his valuable household items just to take Kush. He said that his family has gone apart and his two daughters are now astray because he cannot able to take care of them, adding that he has been given notice by his Landlord because of the stigmatization surrounding Kush.
Another Kush addict, who asked for anonymity said Kush has rendered them very hopeless citing that they now behave abnormally by putting on one pair of clothes and trousers for almost a month and will stay unkempt for the same period without washing their bodies.
Infact, he disclosed that how the mad people used to behave is so now they as Kush addict are behaving to sleep in unfinished buildings, not scrubbing their mouths, wearing untidy clothes and pants, putting on tattered clothes and torn slippers and these he said have been greatly affecting their growth. He noted that most Kush addicts were students who have turned dropped out and have been sidelined by their family members and loved ones due to their new type found habits of taking the inimical substance Kush.
Speaking to this medium, these addictive addicts called on the government to intervene by putting a halt to the importation of the deadly drug which they stated have slowly killed most of their colleagues by its incessant use while stating that many of their colleagues have developed sores and swollen feet due to the chemical used in the process of the synthetic drugs.