IPNEWS: Amidst the proliferation of the highly dangerous drug substances called Kush across Liberia, the Armed Forces of Liberia Chief of Staff, Major General Prince Johnson III, is recommending drug tests for all officials of the Liberian Government.
General Johnson wants such tests conducted for elected and appointed individuals.
The call by the AFL Chief of Staff comes in the wake of an increment of the neve-agent Kush in Liberia resulting in the death of many young people.
In a short write-up issued to the host of the OK Morning Rush Clarence Jackson, Major General Johnson indicated that individuals who tested positive for drugs, should not be allowed to be elected or appointed to public positions.
According to him, the latest recommendation should be one of the requirements set forth for appointment in government.
General Johnson believes the recommendation when accepted will be the beginning of efforts to reduce the illegal flow of narcotic drugs and other substances across the country.
Kush, 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.
A few months ago, there were 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.
Many of the drug users’ telling horrible stories described Kush as terrible and many were using the substance due to peer pressure.
They tell IPNEWS that Kush 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; 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,” One drug user tell IPNEWS.
IPNEWS gathered from some of the drug users that the substances can be found within street centers of Gurley Street, Buchanan Street, Centre Street, and other streets in central Monrovia for LRD 100 for a piece
How dangerous is Kush to those who frequently consume it?
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).
It often results in coughing, increases mucus production, and may, with long-term use, increase the risk of asthma and COPD, vomiting, and abdominal cramping.
It is established that in pregnancy, it may also be associated with premature births and babies born underweight or needing additional medical assistance.
In addition to the side effects of Kush, you should also know about the addiction risk that using Kush and Kush products can bring.
What parts of Liberia are found?
A thorough probe has unearthed that Kush is found in all 15 counties across Liberia.
Though this does not mean it is adequately available on every street corner in the various counties, it is mostly available in every part of Montserrado, the county that holds Liberia’s capital, Monrovia.
Kush peddlers’ position
As the substance remains a serious threat to the country, those involved with the sale described it as their only source of income.
A dealer in central Monrovia, who we spoke with but preferred being off record, said they are cognizant of how bad the substance is, but just as he’s addicted to it, his customers have also become addicted to it, and as such, he can’t renege on making it available for them.
Just like other legal businesses, he sees it as a profitable business, which shows that his service is still important to those who are interested in it.
Is Kush legal in Liberia?
Like cocaine and other harmful substances, Kush is illegal in Liberia, but the drug law makes it a billable offence, meaning perpetrators are eligible for bail.
According to part 2, count 11 of the current drug laws, it provides that “Any person who, without lawful authority-(a) imports, manufactures, produces, processes, plants or grows the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroin or any other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life; or
(b) exports, transports, or otherwise traffics in the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroin, or any other similar drugs, they shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life”.
Its further states that “any person who sells, buys, exposes, offers for sale, or otherwise deals in or with the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroine, or any other similar drugs shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for life; or
Cd) knowingly possesses or uses the drugs popularly known as cocaine, LSD, heroine, or any other similar drugs by smoking, inhaling, or injecting the said drugs shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not less than fifteen years but not exceeding 25 years”.
As a result of mounting pressure from concerned Liberians and INGOs about stronger laws on drugs, the
The Plenary of the Liberian Senate on Thursday, November 10, 2022, passed into law the “Controlled Drug and Substances Act of 2014.”
Taking the decision, the Senate categorizes drug crime into two categories, thereby making it non-bailable or bailable depending on the gravity of the crime.
In the wisdom of the Senate, those who are involved in the importation, distribution, massive production, and custody of illicit drugs shall not be granted the right to bail when caught in the act, while the end users of the drugs shall have the right to bail when apprehended in the act.
The bill is currently at the President’s desk awaiting his signature to become law. (courtesy of OK FM & Women Voices)
