Liberia declares public health emergency as synthetic drug kush spreads

Liberia announced a public health emergency in 2024 over the rapid rise of kush, a cheap and highly addictive synthetic street drug that first appeared in neighboring Sierra Leone and has now spread across the capital, Monrovia, and other parts of the country. Families report children dropping out of school, becoming homeless and being labeled locally as "zogos". One mother, Miata Paye, said of her son’s addiction, "This thing is killing our children," while a 26‑year‑old user, Abraham Jackson, explained, "Since my mother died, my father disowned me. Nobody would pay attention to me."

Treatment options remain scarce. The government‑run rehabilitation centre in Bentol City, about 30 km from Monrovia, is still unfinished, forcing families to turn to private facilities that often lack trained staff and proper oversight. Authorities have also uncovered evidence of a larger narcotics trade operating behind the kush epidemic.