Sierra Leone Declares Emergency as Addicts Exhume Graves to Use Drug Made from Human Bones

The narcotic first emerged in the West African country six years ago. A psychoactive drug made from human bones is causing addicts in Sierra Leone to dig up graves to get their fix. This has led to the country declaring a national emergency.

To address this issue, police officers in Freetown are guarding cemeteries to prevent the practice of exhuming skeletons for the production of the drug, known as “kush”. The drug is made from toxic substances, with ground-up human bone being one of its main ingredients. Dealers have turned to grave robbing to meet the demand for the drug, breaking into thousands of tombs.

Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio has acknowledged the devastating impact of drugs and substance abuse in the country, particularly the synthetic drug Kush. He has established a task force to eliminate the drug and has planned to set up care and support centers staffed by trained professionals in every district. Additionally, efforts are underway to break the drug supply chain through investigations, arrests, and prosecutions.

Freetown currently houses the country’s only operational drug rehabilitation center, which, according to experts, is more of a holding center due to the lack of adequate facilities. While there is no official death toll associated with “kush” abuse, it has been reported that hundreds of young men have died from organ failure caused by the drug. Admissions to the Sierra Leone Psychiatric Hospital with illnesses linked to Kush rose by 4,000% between 2020 and 2023.