"The room smells of sweat and fear. A thick chain with a padlock seals the barred door, and inside, three young people lie on mattresses on the floor, dozing off thanks to a mix of exhaustion and diazepam. Every so often, nurse Saio Keita approaches to check their vital signs, and the youths stir in their half-sleep. Ibrahima (a fictitious name) is one of them. Connected to an IV drip, he watches her expressionlessly and dazed from somewhere deep within his mind."
"The three are users of kush, the dangerous drug currently in vogue in West Africa, that is made of cannabinoids and synthetic opioids up to 25 times stronger than fentanyl. Since its emergence in the region three years ago, it has become a deadly plague that has even prompted Liberia and Sierra Leone to declare a public health emergency. Three patients doze on mattresses on the floor behind bars in the emergency room of the Sajed center for drug addicts in Conakry."
Three young people sleep sedated on floor mattresses behind a padlocked barred door in a Conakry treatment center while a nurse monitors their vital signs. One patient, connected to an IV drip, appears dazed and expressionless. The patients are users of kush, a mixture of cannabinoids and synthetic opioids up to twenty-five times stronger than fentanyl. Kush emerged in Sierra Leone in 2022 and has rapidly spread across West African countries including Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, and Senegal. The drug has caused frequent deaths and prompted Liberia and Sierra Leone to declare public health emergencies. Treatment centers report alarming, daily consequences.
Read at english.elpais.com
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