Health Alert has been following keenly the different arguments, opinions, and strategies on how the fight against the deadly drug Kush should be approached. Kush is indeed a deadly substance that is decimating our youths, destabilizing families, and threatening the very future of our nation’s economy, security, and credibility. This is not merely a public health issue. It is not just a social crisis. It is a terrorist attack on the soul of Sierra Leonean youths and the future of this nation, and it must be treated as such.
Despite several efforts by various institutions to expose and combat the syndicate behind Kush, the government’s response has been tepid, fragmented, and disturbingly economic in tone. Town hall meetings, regulatory pledges, and donor-funded programs have been launched, but where is the urgency? Where is the national mobilization of human, material, and resources? Where is the war and operation room?
Kush Is Not Just a Drug. It is a weapon of mass destruction and a great disempowerment substance. Kush is not cannabis. It is a toxic cocktail of opioids and chemicals that hijacks the brain, destroys ambition, and turns vibrant young minds into shadows of themselves, destroying their potentials and future. Its spread is strategic, its impact catastrophic. It targets the poor, the marginalized, the unemployed, the very youth who should be leading Sierra Leone into a brighter future.
If this were Ebola or Corona, the streets would have been flooded with health workers, burial teams, and emergency ambulances to prevent and contain its spread. If this were an invasion, the military would have been deployed. But because it is Kush and the perpetrators could be highly placed and economically buoyant, while its victims are poor, the response is muted and not on the priority list. Our youth are dying, not just economically, but existentially and futuristically.
We ask: Is the government truly serious about fighting Kush? Or is it more interested in political optics and economic gains? Are we witnessing a genuine war on drugs or a war on the poor?
Until the fight against Kush is treated apolitically and with utmost urgency and reframed as a National Security and State of Emergency, with the same intensity and coordination as counter-terrorism, we will continue to fail. This is not a matter of policy. It is a matter of survival, integrity, and credibility of a sovereign state.
We call on the Government of Sierra Leone and all other political actors to take immediate and decisive action. First, we demand the declaration of Kush as a National Security Threat and a State of Emergency, thus mobilizing a multi-sectoral emergency response and resources. Furthermore, the government must prioritize youth rehabilitation, empowerment, and protection over punitive crackdowns.
Critically, the state must investigate and prosecute the networks, cartels, and individuals procuring, importing, distributing, and selling this drug with the same vigour as anti-terror operations. Finally, we urge the engagement of all political actors, civil society, media, interreligious bodies, traditional leaders, and youth leaders in a unified national campaign to reclaim our integrity and image as a nation.
This is not just a Fight against a Drug. It Is a Fight for Our Nation’s Freedom, Integrity, and a stand against accusations of being a centre for drug trafficking. Let history not record that we stood by while our youths were poisoned and our future destroyed. Let it say that we rose, united, and declared: Enough is enough. Kush is a terrorist attack, and we must defeat it.
