As previously reported by Project CBD, synthetic cannabinoids were likely a factor in the 2019 outbreak of deaths and pulmonary injuries linked to the consumption of harmful e-cigarettes and cannabis vape pen cartridges. Size, Color and Texture Different cannabis types have slightly different colors, shapes and, Read More How big is a cannabis seed?Continue, What is a Marijuana Seed Bank? In fact, there are suspicions of cross-border trade, as Guinea is emerging as a regional hub in the narco trade especially, in recent years, for methamphetamine. This includes increase in blood pressure, seizures, tremors, anxiety and of course addiction. A bizarre sight welcomes anybody who enters the home of Asia Bianca and her husband in the Kenyan coastaltown of Malindi. He is a former news editor at High Times magazine and produces the websites CounterVortex.org andGlobal Ganja Report. It is sometimes sharpened into cigarettes using a special shaping tool. 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Medical staff in the capital Freetown say that 90% of the male admissions to the central psychiatric ward are due to Kush use. The difficulty, according to him, is that Kush is the only thing that makes him forget his worries and feel good. When asked if theyre aware of the adverse effects of Kush on their health, Koroma said that he is not. Kushe O! Mind you, the Kush that is smuggled into Sierra Leone (SL) is a synthetic weed otherwise known as Kush, spice, k2, and many other funny names. [2], The origins of Kush Cannabis are from landrace plants mainly in Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan and North-Western India[3] with the name coming from the Hindu Kush mountain range. The very sad irony here is that there is no shortage of actual cannabis in Sierra Leone. Are there any marijuana seed banks in Massachusetts? [2] Houston police are struggling with a wave of deaths related to synthetic drugs known as kush little more than potpourri of chemicals that have been linked to serious medical problems. He admitted that some of his friends had encouraged him to trythe illegal drug. Video, 00:00:40, Deadly landslides and floods wreak havoc in South Korea, Flute fail: BBC presenter tries to emulate Lizzo. It can exaggerate the risks of both drugs and can lead to a greater risk of accidents or death. Kush Housing Association, a social landlord in London, England. Kush is also used in rituals and ceremonies in certain African cultures. Like with any drug, Kush can cause side effects. Video, 00:00:51Watch: The famous faces on the Hollywood picket line, How the Hollywood strike affects you in 75 seconds. By Alain Stephens & Michael Marks July 27, 2016 2:59 pm Crime & Justice, Health & Science When there was no kush, I smoked diamba [marijuana]," another user who chose to remain anonymous said. God only knows how our youths are just dying in Sierra Leone, with some committing suicide! Kush is a mixture of plant matter sprayed with an ever-altering host of chemicals, in sometimes dangerously high proportions. They provide the essential nutrients needed to ensure the health of, Read More How much is a dozen top pot Doughnuts?Continue, Understanding The Difference Between Sativa and Indica Cannabis home growing is becoming more popular as a way for people to produce their own cannabis plants for recreational or medicinal use. Rare animal sighting delights onlookers, Watch: Oppenheimer actors talk Hollywood strike. Young people killing themselves. Why do youths smoke Kush, and how does it affect them? ***Africa Eye brings you original, investigative journalism revealing secrets and rooting out injustice in the worlds most complex and exciting continent. He called on young folks to desist from hard drugs because they would only harm them and make them unproductive. Kush comes in several forms, Ronko explains. Young people are being driven insane. With that strength, she can have sex with ten or more men, she added. Young people are being driven insane. "The drug lords feel right at home in Guinea-Bissau, like they are in paradise,"Calvario Ahukharie, the former head of Interpol in Guinea-Bissau, told DW. I hear these horrors are being caused by a cheap new illegal high called Kush Kush has become king, overtaking more expensive street drugs like Tramadol., Conteh briefly interviews a young woman who says she sells herself to support her habit which seems to conflict with the notion that Kush is one of the cheaper street drugs available in Freetown. This drug certainly came to the spotlight sometime around 2020/2021. However, Project CBD spoke with Kars de Bruijne, head of the West Africa program at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael), who has served in an advisory capacity to police forces in the region. "I'm addicted to a bad systembut don't frequently consume it," one male kush addict in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, told DW. De Bruijne notes that when Guineas border with Mali was closed for several months due to both COVID-19 and political tensions in 2020-21, there was an explosion of meth in Sierra Leone. He believes that exports usually sent across the Sahara through Mali were diverted down the coast to Sierra Leone. On 27 April 2012, Sierra Leone made history by achieving its first Guinness world record. Many CSWs attest to the fact that sometimes they do not use condoms, because it is requested by their clients not to. Video, 00:07:22, 24 hours with the only doctor on a malaria ward, 'My employer treats me like a slave' Video, 00:05:24, Sierra Leones president on his carbon footprint. Many youth in West Africa are turning to kush as a recreational drug Melissa Phillip/AP Images/picture alliance. Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia are grappling with an increasing number of young people becoming addicted to a substance known as kush or K2. Dr. Firefighters battle raging La Palma wildfires. For instance, unemployment is killing our youth, and the government and other organisations have to do something about it, and it should be done quickly, Babadie indicated. The Beeb goes yellow? Video, 00:03:35Sierra Leones president on his carbon footprint. Missing and feared dead: A sex worker's life. Best known for its white sandy beaches and Italian tourists, Malindi is home to one of the biggest group of heroin addicts in Kenya. "Kush is something that destroys a man. Project CBD is a California-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical uses of cannabidiol (CBD) and other components of the cannabis plant. Kush: The New Killer Drug in Liberia. Video, 00:00:30What is that? BellaNaija is not responsible for the content of external sites and news culled therefrom. Todd says they see people selling it on the street and in convenience stores selling it behind the counter, because it is an illegal substance. Alpha Bah, a student at Fourah Bay College (FBC), University of Sierra Leone (USL), informed DUBAWA that Kush has disgraced dozens of young guys. Watch: How hot will it get in southern Europe heatwave? When asked for the statistics of drug peddlers in the police net Superintendent Kamara noted that he couldnt give an accurate number of people who have been arrested or are in police custody for peddling Kush. "As we move on to elections 2023, we want them to be useful citizens; we want them to contribute to society," Kamara told DW, adding that despite having the power to enforce the laws, they would also use the soft approach. The problem that we see is its completely synthetic, Todd says, so anyone can add whatever they want to it and alter the formula.. This may be akin to illicit products such as K2 and Spice, widely marketed in the US and Europe but if reports are to be believed, it is far more dangerous. The answer is yes, our local drug-testing lab does screen for Kush, K2, Spice, and all other kinds of synthetic marijuana. There has been a flurry of vague but lurid reportage about a supposedly addicting and debilitating pseudo-cannabis substance thats circulating in Sierra Leone and other West African countries. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already hooked. Claims that drug-traffickers were behind an attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau attest to the exploding narco-economy in the region. Heavy monsoon rains cause havoc in South Korea, Halftime review for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European home prices fall but don't bet on a crash, Turkey and the Gulf states: A complicated relationship, Tourists flock to Death Valley to experience heat record. Substances such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, tramadol, and kush, among others, are being smuggled into Liberia daily thru our porous borders, and even official port of entries as was experienced . Dr. Ghazzawi is a foundation fellow of the newly established Postgraduate College of Health Specialists in Sierra Leone. According to the UN drugs agency (UNODC), the most often used illicit drug on the continent is currently cannabis. And, in Sierra Leone, for instance, people who process it normally add formalin to it and that is more dangerous to the systems of those who smoke it, he indicated. It's popular for recreational users because it's sometimes thought to be stronger than other strains of cannabis. Cannabis Home Grow in Massachusetts The state, Read More Are there any marijuana seed banks in Massachusetts?Continue, Your email address will not be published. The questions that bounce into my mind are? Some employers and test-takers are surprised to learn that WSS screens for synthetic marijuana in Houston because the drug is sold in stores, not on the street. Young people are suffering mental health problems, harming themselves and others, and even taking their own lives. The crowning insult to weed-lovers around the world is that the stuff is being called "Kush" appropriating a term associated with high-grade cannabis indica. The chemical compounds in kush affect the brain differently than THC, the chemical in marijuana that gives users a high, does. We start with a closer look at the lives of heroin addicts in Kenya. Are they infected with HIV, Hepatitis B or other sexually transmitted diseases that predisposes them to chronic infectious diseases? The most prevalent types of drugs traded in East Africa are heroin, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and khat, all of which are strictly prohibited in East African countries. Before September 2015, the Houston PD had a list of illegal chemicals. Nothing whatsoever to do with lysergic acid diethylamide. You have to know what to ask for when you go in the store, she says. He agrees that that a minute quantity (enough for a skinny joint, about a gram) goes for 5,000 leones, which is about 50 cents. Under the Radar: Synthetic Cannabinoids & EVALI, Poison Alert! East African drug trade refers to the sale and trafficking of illegal drugs that take place in East African countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Kush is also in Guinea, but it is really big in Sierra Leone, he says. Cannabis has two main subspecies indica and sativa. Thats about the same as a price for a hit of other sadly popular street drugs, such as brown-brownwhich is cocaine or meth cut with gunpowder. Mohamed Koroma and Alfred Sesay (not their real names) also indicated that they smoke Kush to feel good and get the strength and power to carry out their daily activities. Sloppy media accounts said he had been under the influence of a new form of LSD. But the small print revealed that the substance involved was bath salts, which may contain amphetamine-like chemicals such as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone, and pyrovalerone. vHon. Is Kush to blame for desperation in Sierra Leone or is endemic poverty the key factor? "An Overview of Products and Bias in Research", Clinical endocannabinoid deficiency syndrome, International Cannabinoid Research Society, Capital punishment for cannabis trafficking, 1971 Vienna Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1998 UN Convention on Illicit Trafficking, Rescheduling per the Controlled Substances Act, List of British politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use, List of American politicians who have acknowledged cannabis use, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cannabis industry, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kush_(cannabis)&oldid=1134295196, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 23:51. D-d-drugs in da club. Read about our approach to external linking. The more I have it the more I need it." Police are battling to win the war against the drug. Send your story ideas to [emailprotected] or submit them to us here | Apply to join our Team |Donate to Sierraloaded. It is interesting, though, laughs! When you hear their stories, as to why they use Kush, they will say sometimes, I need to numb myself so that I will not be bothered for sex! Something bad is happening in my country, Conteh relates in the new video. If you are affected by the issues in this video, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line http://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline. So What Exactly is Kush? Rare animal sighting delights onlookers. Young people being. Are your CBD and THC-rich consumables contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides, and reproductive toxins? (TW: Themes of self-harm and suicide)Kush - a cheap, new illegal drug high is taking the youth of Sierra Leone to a dark place. Also, because synthetic cannabinoids can over stimulate the serotonin system, it is important to avoid mixing them with antidepressants, as they both stimulate serotonin response in the brain- which can lead to serotonin syndrome, causing high fever, rapid pulse, sweating, agitation, confusion, convulsions, organ failure, coma and even death. These synthetic cannabinoids can be very harmful and life threatening as it is 100 times more potent than that of natural marijuana. 2023 Dixie Kira - WordPress Theme by Kadence WP. On the other hand, Sesay told DUBAWA that he is aware of the negative impacts of Kush, more so to those who smoke it frequently, adding that he wants to stop taking Kush, but it seems challenging for him. So I got scared and hoped when I was high on heroin that I hadn't placed my hand or leg on her, causing her to suffocate," a visibly downcast Bianca tells DW. In SL it is mostly smoked with or without tobacco, placed in e-cigarettes or pipes. Disclaimer: Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Sierraloaded or any employee thereof. Video, 00:13:00Missing and feared dead: A sex worker's life, 24 hours with the only doctor on a malaria ward. However, more and more drug users are beginning to inject substances, though the practice is deemedparticularly risky as sharing contaminated needles and syringes can transmit viruses such as HIV andHepatitis B, and C. In West Africa,Guinea-Bissau is also an important hub for drug trafficking especially for cocaine. Bacterial meningitis is an infection of the lining of the brain that is . In countries with good health information systems and surveillance, it is known that since marijuana has been legalized for recreational use, emergency room visits have skyrocketed. The packets are often colourful foil packs or plastic zip bags. Houston police are struggling with a wave of deaths related to synthetic drugs known as "kush" - little more than potpourri of chemicals that have been linked to serious medical problems. If you wish to reproduce any of the content on this site, please. At no point is it mentioned that kush is actually the traditional name for a potent but innocuous and even (when used with respect) salubrious THC-laden flower. Rare animal sighting delights onlookers. Can chilled water help to kill the power of Kush in the system? What happens if Russia blocks the Ukraine grain deal? The Urban Dictionary also describes Kush as a strain of Cannabis that is almost solely of the Indica variety. An infant's slippers, strewn with cigarette waste and drug paraphernalia. "The drug kush is a locally manufactured drug. Even though Kush is a drug labelled as not meant for human consumption, humans, particularly young folks, have made food and water out of the drug with dire repercussions. Ikaw broke kasi lazy . | By BBC News Africa | Facebook Log In Forgot Account? If they were not within that list, she says, we were pretty much playing a cat-and-mouse game., Now, a 2015 law allows officers can seize substances that are substantially similar to or pharmacologically mimics the symptoms of things on that list of illegal substance. A peddler in the Western part of Freetown stated that the police had arrested her and other peddlers on several occasions for peddling Kush and other hard drugs. To simplify things here, we have the naturally occurring Kush which is a specific strain of cannabis that originated from the Hindu Kush mountains located near the border of Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. "When schools closed [during the lockdown], the number of young drug users shot up," said Alphonse Maina, a volunteer with the Omari Project, a community-based rehabilitation center in Malindi. "Hindu Kush" strains of Cannabis were taken to the United States in the mid-to-late 1970s and continue to be available there to the present day. Guinea and Sierra Leone share a porous border. Frankly, I am not happy to smoke Kush, but it is the only thing that gives me the power, strength, and courage to do my sex job, Kadiatu Lahai (not her real name), a commercial sex worker, disclosed to DUBAWA. Video, 00:13:00, Missing and feared dead: A sex worker's life, 24 hours with the only doctor on a malaria ward. Kush (red panda), a male red panda known for escaping Curraghs Wildlife Park. Kush is a form of Cannabis Sativa that originated in the Hindu Kush mountain range, found between Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's it! He admitted that the peddlers of these drugs are on the increase. The first time I smoked Kush, I felt my right foot was missing. The illicit drugs commonly abused in Africa are cannabis, amphetamine-type stimulants, Ecstasy (MDMA), opium and its derivatives e.g., heroin; cocaine and crack cocaine, and khat. It is renowned for its distinct characteristics that make it a great all-round strain. May not be reprinted without permission. Acetone is a widely used solvent and paint remover, which can cause confusion, dizziness and fast heart rate when inhaled in large quantities. Dec 6, 2020 7 min read What is kush? February 7, 2022 By BN TV Kush is a cheap, new illegal drug that is sending Sierra Leone's young into a tailspin. The CDCs diagnostic criteria for EVALI parallel the symptoms of synthetic cannabinoid use. Manal Ghazzzawi- is a Doctor of Pharmacy, a public health specialist and a consultant clinical pharmacist. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes substance abuse as the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs. As noted in the INCB ( 2004) report, cannabis remains the most abused illicit drug in many African countries. What is Kush and Why is it Wreaking Havoc in Houston? DUBAWA also spoke to Thomas P. Babadie, the Executive Director (ED) for the Forum for Sierra Leonean Youths Network (FoSLYN) in Freetown (a non-profit organisation that seeks the interests & welfare of youths in the country). The woman, identified only as Isha, goes from dejection to euphoria after a few puffs off what looks like a joint. The drug comes in different colours and textures. To get money from these communities, already disadvantaged communities.". As Sierra Leone prepares for national polls this year, there are concerns that the rate at which kush is consumed might lead to violence in the upcoming elections. They call it Mr. More. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The best Nigerian and African video content from around the web specially curated for YOU! Video, 00:03:35, Sierra Leones president on his carbon footprint, Watch: How hot will it get in southern Europe heatwave? Copyright, Project CBD. "My friend was chewing his tongue until he died while we were at the hospital. He further said they are the countrys two major causes of the mental health challenge. I asked the Head of Communications for the Sierra Leone Police Superintendent Brima Kamara, who asserted that Kush is an illegal drug; adding that the drug seriously affects young folks who take it because it is produced with the combination of strong and hard chemicals that affect the human brain. Young people are suffering mental health problems, harming themselves and others and even taking their own lives. After being exhorted by a public relations officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at a police-organized community meeting, he sees the error of ways. Since September the city of Houston has reported nearly 3,000 overdoses about half of of them attributed to a product called Kush. Video, 00:00:08Watch: Moment Just Stop Oil interrupt the Proms, Watch: The famous faces on the Hollywood picket line. The legal atmosphere in Sierra Leone may be less exacting than in the US, but the ever-morphing nature of the Kush formula also raises the question of under what statute each variation may be deemed illegal, as they all apparently are. But the illegal synthetic drugknown as kush is not to be mistaken with the synonymous marijuana strain. What Select Seeds Does, Knowledge about Cannabis Seed Size Cannabis seeds come in various sizes and shapes, and knowing the size can help growers in deciding the most suitable cannabis strain. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Video, 00:00:47, Firefighters battle raging La Palma wildfires, Deadly landslides and floods wreak havoc in South Korea. He explained that he had seen a young person dieafter taking kush. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video, Karim Kamara is a DW English Africa correspondent in Guinea-Conakry, The 77 Percent - The Magazine for Africa's Youth, Ukraine: Kremlin says grain deal halted after Crimea attack. It's a substance rolled up and smoked like a cigarette or cannabis. He stated that there are a lot of negative effects on the systems of those who smoke it, more so on those who are persistent smokers of the drug. Kush is a form of Cannabis Sativa that originated in the Hindu Kush mountain range, found between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We also find out why Marijuana could be the next big money-spinner in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Is Kush legal or illegal in Sierra Leone? The boy was only 15 years old," he added. . "I smoked kush with one of my friends. "We have to work collaboratively with other ministries, departmentsand agenciesto see how we can possibly team up with them to ensure that we let these guys know that what they are doing is not right for them.". Medical staff in the.