An addiction crisis is gripping Sierra Leone, one of the world’s poorest nations, driven by a surge in use of “kush”, a toxic blend of psychoactive substances. As the West African nation struggles to boost its economy, thousands of unemployed young adults have turned to the potent alternative to marijuana to fill their days.

The kush crisis is part of a growing trend of substance abuse across Africa, particularly among the continent’s youth.

“People are addicted to escape,” said Abass Wurie, a biomedical scientist in Freetown who is studying the effects of the drug on the heart and kidney.

Here is more from Aanu Adeoye at the FT.  Is this a new trend for very poor countries, as the prices of escapist, addictive drugs fall all the more?