Sierra Leone’s president has declared a national emergency over Kush drug as it wreaked havoc on the country’s youth population.

Kush, a psychoactive blend of addictive substances mixed with human bones, has been prevalent in the country for years.

President Julius Maada Bio called the drug a “death trap” and said it posed an “existential crisis”. 

In a nationwide broadcast on Thursday night, President Bio said: “Our country is currently faced with an existential threat due to the ravaging impact of drugs and substance abuse, particularly the devastating synthetic drug kush.”

He added that there had been “escalating fatalities” among kush users.

The president also directed officials to set up a National Task Force on Drugs and Substance Abuse, which will primarily focus on “combatting the kush crisis”. 

He said centres will be set up in every district and “adequately staffed by trained professionals to offer care and support to people with drug addiction”. 

Meanwhile, the spike in kush use has seen Freetown’s main cemeteries request police security to protect themselves from young men digging up skeletons – ground-up human bone is one of the many ingredients used to make kush, although it is not clear why.