Introduction
Sierra Leone, a small country on the West Coast of Africa, blessed with immeasurable precious minerals and entrancing beaches is battling a drug epidemic that is ravaging the nation’s human capital and blurring the potential of thousands of youths on whose shoulders the future of the country rests. On the 4th of April 2024, President Julius Maada Bio declared drug abuse a “National Emergency” and said “We are witnessing the destructive consequences of kush on our country’s very foundation, our young people”. He has vowed to tackle this plague head-on in order to save the nation’s human resource. In doing so, the President outlined robust and ingenious methods which he hopes will ameliorate or curb the spare a which youths are getting hooked on a specific synthetic drug called “kush” that has overwhelmed the country’s streets, night clubs, pubs and communities. But the measures aren’t working and the number of addicts and kush-related deaths continue to rise steadily with no permanent and realistic solution in sight.
What is kush?
Generally, kush is a synthetic drug which is a mixture of several additives such as acetone- which is a chemical being used in cosmetics, most notably nail removers-, formalin which is a chemical used to preserve bodies in mortuaries and in Sierra Leone’s case, dried bones of dead people. My country is one of the few places on earth where the dead do not have peace of mind . They’re tormented by viscious youths who want to cash in on their bones. Once smoked, the individual loses his or her senses and transcends into a trance for a few minutes before gaining consciousness. It is highly addictive and over the past year, many youths have succumbed to its dangerous side effects. Criminal gangs have infested slum communities and those strewn with the city’s garbage with a concoction of the most cheapest drug you can find in any ghetto in the world. Who’s the victim here? Jobless youths and those pursuing secondary and tertiary education. Most of them have either paused their courses or dropped out in entirety.
How does the synthetic drug contribute to high dropout rate?
Musa (not his real name) was a hardworking student who did extremely well in all his exams. He hailed from a home where discipline is a norm and every member of the family is expected to exhibit traits of the disciplinary fibre the family is known for. About a year ago he indulged in substance abuse which veered him off course and rendered his entire life useless. Musa is currently addicted to kush and his predicament has dashed his hopes of a better life, until he decides to quit and be clean. Musa isn’t the only young person who is affected. Peer pressure has lured many into drug abuse and the repercussions have been a decline in the percentage of youths who are pursuing formal education. Many continue to be swept off their feet by an addiction that is precarious.
Legal framework to combat prevent drug proliferation
The National Drugs Control Act, Act No. 10 of 2008 provides for the establishment of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency which is a body mandated to provide leadership in coordinating all issues relating to drug control and the eradication of drug abuse. It is the existence of such a supposedly formidable institution that shaped the president’s thoughts to position the NDLEA in the thick of the fight against drug abuse which is plunging a nation with one of the youngest populations in Africa in an unfathomable abyss. Section 3(1)(e) of the National Drugs Control Act 2008 empowers the NDLEA to facilitate cooperation and timely exchange of regulatory, law enforcement, criminal justice relating to drug control in Sierra Leone. Obviously, without any speck of doubt, Sierra Leone has regulatory frameworks meant to tackle the proliferation of drug abuse but there are numerous bottlenecks hindering the effective implementation of these legal frameworks.
