By Nasratu Kargbo
Reports of the discovery of the dead bodies of young men at Hagan Street in Freetown and a video making rounds on social media of youths acting like zombies as their heads were being forcibly shaved, have sparked up intense discussions in Parliament with MPs speaking passionately on the issue and suggesting they invite stakeholders, amidst calls for the adoption of certain measures.
The MPs said the widespread use of the psychoactive drug Kush should be pronounced a public health emergency.
The enthusiasm and willingness to end what they described as a menace was what filled the atmosphere in parliament. Speaking on the 12th March 2024 Chief Whip of the Opposition, Abdul Karim Kamara explained that he witnessed the corpses of seven youths between the ages of nineteen to twenty-one being brought out of Hagan Street Market at Marbella- victims of Kush addiction according to the MP.
Speaking passionately Kamara said: “It shows how dangerous this is, I call on this house to do the needful; we should move away from lip service and take concrete actions to save the lives of our youths. The situation is terrible”. He said the substance is prevalent in every village.
Representing Western Area Urban District Dr. Unpha Sorie Koroma spoke of the video of dozens of young Kush addicts’ having their heads shaved.
He stressed that certain institutions such as the Ministry of Social Welfare, and National Drug Enforcement Authority (NDEA) should be invited to Parliament to understand what is being done. Koroma said that one should know whether it is right to shave their heads on the streets, explaining that there is a facility at Kerry Town that was used during the Ebola Pandemic, asking what is being done with the facility.
Koroma said that Kush intake is alarming, saying the country is under attack, and that the personal interests of certain Sierra Leoneans have undermined the government’s effort in the fight against the substance.
Bo District MP, Amie N. Moriba emphasized that the fight should not be limited to the consumers but also importers of the product, who are making money out of a substance that is killing the youths.
The MP added that a rehab centre should not only be established for the addicts but also for those who import the substance. “The government and MDAs concerned should chase importers, from the international airport to all border entries in this country,” Moriba said.
Chairman of Youth in Parliament Abdul Latif Sesay said: “Mr. Speaker, even the dead can no longer rest in their graves, their bones are wanted, just as people are mining for diamonds. I want you to use your office to ensure that our cemeteries are secured”.
Sesay suggested that the fight should not be centralized, as addicts of the substance are in all parts of the country, and called on his colleagues to ensure that they make the fight personal.
He spoke on the need to also pay attention to the health of these addicts.
The Leader of Government Business Mathew S. Nyuma said they are at a point where as legislators they should be calling on the government to institute a public health emergency with regulations like was done for sexual violence.
Nyuma cited that with a public health emergency, one can be arrested, tried, jailed, and sentenced for selling the drug.
He said even if the country has sophisticated equipment it will be difficult to detect the product, explaining that it is being produced in the country and that different substances and chemicals are put together to make kush.
Reacting to the contribution made by Koroma about the video, the Leader said he had mixed feelings when he saw the video. He explained that the sanitary aspect is important; saying that the youth addicts do not look decent, but also stated that there is a human rights issue in addressing their condition. He said he felt sorry for the victims but also appreciated those who took the time to clean them up.
He suggested that they go after retailers since it is difficult to capture the manufacturers of kush.
Nyuma said the country has laws on substance abuse but that the problem is implementation, and asked parliament to invite stakeholders and trigger enforcement.
Many other MPs also made contributions agreeing to tackle the menace.
This is not the first time the issue of kush has been brought up, MPs have on different occasions raised concerns about the effect of this deadly substance. However, the prevalence of it remains alarming. What seems to be different this time is that MPs from both sides of the aisle seemed very determined to take action this time.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (13/03/24)
