By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
Matron Bakary Camara of Tanka Tanka Psychiatrist Hospital has made a passionate appeal to the nation’s youth to shun ‘Kush,’ a highly addictive substance linked to several deaths among the Gambian youths.
In an exclusive interview with TAT, he warned about the dangers of using Kush, which has been known to have instantaneous effects on users after intake due to its ability to target specific areas within the brain, such as neurons & neurotransmitters, directly causing long-term damage if not addressed early enough.
“If we look at where Kush emanated from, it is made of the time and consists of part of the human bone, and the reason why they look for human bone in its production is that human bone contains sulfur and calcium. Suppose you take these ingredients (sulfur and calcium). In that case, it will affect the cells and neutrons of your brain, and obviously, it can paralysis some parts of the brain; that’s why if you take it, you see the impact immediately,” Bakary Camara, Matron, Tanka Tanka explained.
According to him, Kush is uniquely dangerous compared to dysapharm and Trymadol. It should be avoided by young people due to its fast-reacting nature.
He observed that users of Kush manifest hilarious and cunny characteristics that include drolling, over-happiness, grandiosity state, and high mode, noting that some users become psychoactive, sluggish, release saliva from their mouth and long hours of sleeping.
“Specifically, we did not have patients who are admitted as a result of taking Kush, but of them come with a history of taking two or three kinds of drugs, and you can specifically say this is Kush, Trymadol, or Dysapharm. However, suppose you start interviewing these particular individuals. In that case, they will tell you that Kush is a hazardous drug, and if you touch it, it’s like the world goes up and down for him,” Tanka Tanka, Matron disclosed.
He added: “We have instances when some of the patients will scale the fence and go and look for Kush, which shows how dangerous Kush is. I have also spoken with some patients who regretted taking Kush and have promised not to take it anymore because of its impact on their lives, so my advice to the youths is to let them do away from taking Kush.”
He urged the government and all stakeholders to join forces in fighting against Kush, a dangerous drug that’s rapidly spreading its head in Gambia. He emphasized that it is more harmful than most drugs consumed by youths, and eradicating it from the country should be everyone’s business.
