People dig up human bones to make medicine called ‘Kush’

• Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency over widespread drug abuse.
• One drug of particular concern in the West African country is the synthetic drug “kush.”
• Locals claim the medicine is made from ground human bones.

Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, is a bustling African port city on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, where even the dead cannot rest, its residents say.

Cemeteries are increasing security measures because gravediggers are stealing human bones to make powerful synthetic drugs, local journalists told Business Insider.

Sierra Leone, West Africa, declared a state of emergency in April over rising cases of synthetic drug abuse due to the spread of “kush”, which contains crushed human bones, according to locals.

Addressing the nation on April 4, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio said the country faced “an existential threat” from the “devastating impact of drugs and substance abuse.” , particularly the devastating synthetic drug Kush.”

As with the increase in synthetic drug use in other parts of the world, such as the fentanyl crisis in the United States, kush could spread.

International expansion is “almost inevitable,” Michael Cole, professor of forensic science at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, told BI.

Although there are no official statistics on the number of users of the drug, they are not difficult to spot, according to reports.

The streets of Freetown, the country’s capital, are reportedly flooded with young men, often sitting or lying where they passed out after smoking drugs, Sally Hayden reported for the Irish Times.

Why locals say kush is sometimes made with ground human bones

Kush has been present in Sierra Leone for years, but its exact origin and composition remain unclear.

Cole told BI that kush is a mixture of tobacco, cannabis, tramadol and fentanyl – but he noted that some believe it may also contain formaldehyde, a preservative used in corpse embalming fluid .

Formaldehyde also has euphoric properties, says the National Library of Medicine, which explains why kush users might raid Freetown cemeteries.

Mabinty Magdalene Kamar, editor-in-chief of a local media outlet, Politico SL, said kush users had told her the drug did indeed contain bones.

“We heard stories of boys breaking into cemeteries and graves, then removing bones from corpses and grinding them just to produce kush,” she told BI.

The drug has a devastating effect on users’ physical health. Abdul Jalloh, a mental health expert and head of hospital care at the Sierra Leone University Psychiatric Hospital, told BI that he had observed kush users suffering from problems such as skin necrosis, ulcers, sores, oral and dental problems, kidney and liver problems and eye infections.

It can also be fatal, with one doctor telling the BBC that “in recent months” hundreds of men have died in Freetown after suffering organ failure caused by the drug.

Police monitor Freetown cemeteries

Local media reported cases of graves being searched for bones to extract formaldehyde and make the drug.

Thomas Dixon, editor of the Salone Times newspaper in Freetown, told BI that although his publication could not confirm the use of human bones in the drug, “you will see missing bones” if you visit in the city’s cemeteries.

Fears about grave robbing for kush production have become so widespread in the city that some cemeteries have sought police protection, the BBC reported.

Business Insider has contacted Freetown police for comment.

“It makes you forget”

Jalloh said most kush users were “between the ages of 20 and 34.”

Sierra Leoneans face skyrocketing unemployment rates and much of the population lives in poverty – and some appear to be turning to kush to try to forget these problems.

Jalloh said many patients he dealt with cited unemployment, stress and peer pressure among the reasons they started using the drug.

“It makes you forget,” Salifu Kamara, a 21-year-old kush user, told NPR. “We are under such pressure. There is no work. There is nothing here.”

Thomas Dixon said he believed this pointed to a “systemic failure” in the country, adding that kush was turning young people into “zombies”.

“Young people no longer believe in the authorities. People no longer believe in the political system. They turn to drugs,” he said.

Jalloh stressed that the use of synthetic drugs was not unique to Sierra Leone.

“It’s a global crisis everywhere,” he said.

And with synthetic drug use increasing in other parts of the world, such as the fentanyl crisis in the United States, kush could spread.

International expansion is “almost inevitable,” Cole said.

Synthetic cannabinoids

Authorities have compared kush to synthetic cannabinoids, reports the Guardian.

Synthetic cannabinoids are chemicals that mimic the effects of cannabis but can be much more harmful and unpredictable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that toxic synthetic cannabinoids can cause increased heart rate, vomiting, agitation, confusion, and hallucinations.

“Synthetic marijuana” can be up to 100 times more potent than traditional marijuana, causing extreme physical effects like seizures, psychosis and even death.

In 2015, BI’s Erin Brodwin covered the rise of these synthetic drugs, marketed under the names “spice,” “K2,” “black mamba” or “crazy clown.”

Brodwin reported that drug manufacturers change specific drug ingredients so quickly — and produce them in such massive quantities — that drug police can’t keep up.

In 2021, Kensington, a low-income neighborhood in North Philadelphia, became notorious for its abuse of a sedative called “tranq”. Also known as “xylazine,” this animal sedative was often combined with other medications. One side effect of this medication can be difficulty standing, which is why users are commonly described in the media as “zombies.”

Last month, the Financial Times reported that tranq had reached the UK.