MONROVIA – On a cold, wet day on Center Street downtown Monrovia, with just L$150.00, Johnny starts his day with a substance known as “kush”, which he mixes with half of a cigarette and rolls it into a joint before smoking it.
By: Mae Azango [email protected]
Walking alongside Johnny to a secluded corner behind the Center Street police depot, he demonstrates the preparation process to his companion, who had purchased the cigarette earlier. “We add cigarette tobacco to the kush and roll it together because the quantity is small. Sometimes two or three people can smoke it, and its effects are almost immediate. Within minutes, you feel high,” he said.
Johnny, hailing from Bong County, is one of the many youths who have become addicted to various forms of narcotic substances. The latest substance of concern is called Kush, which has reportedly been fatal for many disadvantaged youths known as “zogoes.”
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), it is estimated that two out of ten Liberian youths are users of narcotic substances. In their pursuit to sustain their desires and drug use, young people living in ghettos, on street corners, and in cemeteries often resort to criminal activities, including armed robberies.
President George Weah previously addressed the negative impact of narcotic drugs on Liberia’s young population. “Losing young people to drugs will adversely affect the country’s human capital, thus impeding national development. The prevalence of drug addiction among our population necessitates swift action,” said President Weah.
He further emphasized, “The imminent danger will continue to grow if we do not reclaim, redeem, and transform these potentially valuable human assets into law-abiding citizens.”
Returning to Center Street, Johnny, sitting with his friend, explains how kush affects him after consuming it: “When I smoke kush, it makes me feel relaxed and unbothered. It calms me down. However, it affects other people differently,” he said.
Johnny enumerates the various types of kush available, mentioning the dripping Kush, Sparkling Kush, and Tension Kush. The type he had was the dripping kush. “We don’t sell tension Kush here on our block because it can cause someone to strip naked and run mad on the street,” he added.
Moments before this interview, a young man known as ‘iPhone,’ who had reportedly consumed the kush substance on Saturday, was observed running wildly, attempting to uproot a signboard pole. “That guy has been using drugs for more than fifteen years, and when he added tension kush on top of it, he went mad. But after some time, he will return to normal,” Johnny explained.
When asked why kush is fatal for some while they remain unaffected, Johnny replied, “Kush is not the killer. People who have not yet turned 18 and smoke kush experience no harm. When people fall sick and die, others blame it on kush, but people were dying on the streets before kush arrived. Some of us contract malaria due to the poor sleeping environment where mosquitoes bite us, and without proper treatment, we resort to drugs. Then, if the person dies, they attribute it to kush. Additionally, some individuals who lack strong resistance can go mad after consuming kush. Some have the habit of not eating before using it.”
However, the Ministry of Youth and Sports states that the growing population of “At-Risk Youth” in Liberia is influenced by factors such as peer pressure, poverty, sexual and physical abuse, weak family support systems, and intergenerational drug use. Many of the current drug addicts’ parents were former child soldiers.
Johnny expressed his wish for the Liberian government to prevent kush from entering the country, as he finds it challenging to leave the streets due to his friends’ addiction to the substance. “When I fell sick, my mother came from Bong County to look for me and took me there, but once I recovered, I returned to continue my daily struggle,” he said.
