“While global headlines have often focused on America’s painkiller addictions, an opioid crisis is raging across west Africa. For decades, Latin American cartels have trafficked cocaine through fragile west African states and on to Europe. Narcotics have often found their way into the region’s conflicts. For example, during Sierra Leone’s war, child soldiers were reportedly given a combination of cocaine and smokeless gunpowder called ‘brown-brown’ that would send them into a killing frenzy. However, many of the hard drugs used in Europe and America are too expensive for those Africans living outside metropolitan areas. This has left a gap in the market for cheap, powerful highs. “
Source: West Africa’s opioid crisis – The Economist explains
