-An analysis of the consequences of some cdcians’. advocacy for drug.
By: Jerromie S. Walters
Drug use has been a contentious issue for decades, and it is somehow uncommon to hear of women advocating for drug use. While their intentions is yet to be known, the consequences of such advocacy can be dire.
“We want kush, we want kush, we want kush, we want kush,” scores of female supporters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) recently chanted, as they paraded parts of central Monrovia as part of their campaign process.
The CDC administration has been accused of being the masterminding force behind the importation of drug(especially kush) in Liberia.
Practically, this has been emphasized mostly by the opposition. It has also been used against the government during the campaign, as the opposition has told Liberians that the government is responsible for the rapid proliferation of illegal substances in Liberia, while they (opposition) also believe that the government has doneless to curb the situation.
Amid this and the horrible effects of drugs on the youths of Liberia, women of the CDC openly told Liberians and the world that they need the harmful substance.
As widely known, Drug use is associated with numerous health risks, including addiction, overdose, and mental health problems. Women advocating for drug use can lead to the creation of a culture of drug use, which can be difficult to eradicate.
As society often views drug use as a deviant behavior, the women advocacy for drug can be viewed as immoral or irresponsible. This stigma can impact the government,their job opportunities, and overall quality of life.
Women, like those from the CDC who have advocated for drug use, risk exposing their children to the dangers of drugs. Children who grow up in households where drug use is normalized are more likely to experiment with drugs themselves. This can lead to a cycle of drug use that can be difficult to break.
On the other hand, the women advocacy which displayed their lack of knowledge to drugs effects, puts their administration in a complicated situation, especially in such a time when an official of the administration has been excused of importing drug.
On Sunday, September 10, 2023, the Management of the Roberts International Airport confirmed that suspicious boxes transported directly from the tarmac in a minibus and being escorted by the airport’s chief of security were intercepted by officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia. According to the airport management, the AFL had reported that Mr. Freeman had claimed that the package belonged to Finda Bundo, the President’s Chief of Protocol. However, Mr. Freeman denied saying such to the AFL officers.
This unorthodox advocacy by the women of the ruling party has the propensity to undermine the government’s fight against drug. Moreover, women, like those from the CDC who advocate for drug use risk promoting a behavior that can have serious consequences.
The health risks, legal consequences, social stigma, impact on children, and economic consequences of drug use are significant. It is important for women to consider the long-term impact of their advocacy and to promote healthy behaviors that lead to positive outcomes for themselves and their communities.
Kush, the substance which the women vehemently called for, is a very harmful illegal drug, is speedily increasing on every street corner across Liberia, as its terribleness has been seen through the multiplicity of demeaning ways it has treated its end users, especially young folks (at-risk youth and home children), through maltreatment, madness, and death.
Over the last few months, there have been reports of several deaths that were reportedly influenced by the consumption of kush in Caldwell, New Georgia, the Central Caldwell Back Road, Grand Cape Mount County, and other parts of Liberia, as young people remain the number one victims.
Hundreds of young Liberians are indescribably falling prey to the dreadful hands of the narcotic substance that’s also known as K2, which often treats them like they are going mad.
Drug users’ personal kush experience
Annie (not her real name), a 23-year-old drug user who got involved in it through peer pressure, described Kush as terrible as one could imagine, stressing that they are being greatly affected by it because it is more dangerous than cocaine and marijuana.
“It’s something that, when you take it, makes you feel like you are in the next world; it makes you miserable; it’s very bad, and if you don’t have a good resistance to it, it can kill you,” she said.
Emphasising the difference between Kush, marijuana, and cocaine, Annie said that though cocaine is bad, it’s more preferable and advisable to consume than Kush.
“The grass is much better than the kush, because you can be a bit ok if you take the grass, but the kush, when it’s leaving from within you, that’s the time you can know yourself, but it’s not correct, the kush is not correct, it’s very bad indeed, it’s a bad thing the people are bringing for us,” she added.
According to the kush addict, they often buy it on Gurley Street, Buchanan Street, Centre Street, and other streets in central Monrovia for LRD 100 for a piece of it.
Synonymous to Annie’s testimony, Konah (not her real name), a 28-year-old disadvantaged youth, said whenever she takes Kush, she feels miserable, a feeling that sometimes makes her do mad things.
“Really, when I smoke the drug, I don’t really feel hard, but anytime I speak the Kush, I can feel hard and like I am in a different world; sometimes it can make me eat, and when I don’t have food, I can be confused,” she narrated.
She continued, “Prof, really, the Kush gets bad spirit; when you smoke the grass, it makes you meditate, but the Kush can make you almost crazy; sometimes if you don’t have a strong system, you can get crazy, and it has happened to some of our men here now; they are crazy in the street.”
As narrated by Kona, days ago, she took Kush, and her friends from the ghetto along with other concerned citizens had to pour huge quantities of water on her head before she became normal.
“It did not treat me like that; the people got to waste water on me because I was not to myself; after I came to myself and realised what people told me, I was shamed because they said I was jeering and acting confused,” she explained.
“Kush” is one of the popular substances (drugs) that arrived in Liberia in late 2020 or early 2021, similar to when it arrived in Sierra Leone, but it was scarce on the drug market in Liberia.
It’s a substance rolled up and smoked like a cigarette, but it’s not the same as marijuana.
Though it is quite different from marijuana in terms of size, shape, and form, Kush is known for its intense sedative effects on its users. It is famously known as “K2,” however, it has other street names like Bliss, Blaze, Fake Weed, etc. Like many other illicit drugs, research has shown that Kush can lead to blood pressure changes (blood pressure may go both up and down and may change suddenly at different phases of the drug’s active period), dizziness, drowsiness, extreme fatigue, facial flushing, and red, irritated-looking eyes (which may happen with or without any discomfort), and short-term impairment of memory and cognition (possible long-term impairment is being explored).
On different occasions, scores of other Liberians have shared their experiences with how “KUSH” has treated most of the young folks that have been involved with it.
“Let’s protect our babies as we strive to fight against the most deadly disease in our country, now called KUSH.”
Conspicuously, some other Liberians are of the opinion that young people are on the verge of going to their dark place because of “KUSH.” They believe that one of the major problems is that KUSH is entering Liberia through its porous borders with neighbouring countries, especially Sierra Leone. Maxson Kpakio, the Executive Director of the Justice Forum Liberia, has recommended the need for a ban on the sale of kush, shisha, and other narcotic substances in Liberia.
