VIDEO – IMAGINE THAT –

Jan. 17, 2024 – The drug, known as “kush,” causes users to walk around like zombies. 

Kush—unlike the drug of the same name in the U.S.—is a mixture of several substances, including cannabis, fentanyl, tramadol, and  the  formaldehyde. Some have claimed that the drug contains ground-up human bones, though experts think this is likely only a rumor.

“Kush in Africa is a drug that contains a mixture of chemicals including tramadol (a synthetic opiate), cannabis, fentanyl and sometimes formaldehyde. It has become popular as it is affordable and widely available, both factors that drive drug use in any country,” Ian Hamilton, an associate professor of addiction at the University of York in the U.K., told Newsweek.

“Underpinning its popularity are some social factors such as high unemployment, poverty and lack of hope. Kush appears to have arrived at the right time to help those using it numb out the adverse social conditions they experience.”

Fentanyl and tramadol are both highly addictive opiates, and formaldehyde, which is used to embalm dead bodies, can cause hallucinations when consumed. Due to the mixed nature of kush, the proportions and concentrations of each of the substances are hard to control, and therefore the drug can lead to very different reactions between individuals.

“If kush mixtures really do contain synthetic opioids, then the risk to health are clear. These are the drugs that have led to so many deaths in North America and are of increasing concern in Europe,” Harry Sumnall, a professor in substance use at Liverpool John Moores University, told Newsweek.  

WATCH@Newsweek