Gutter water isn’t the only dangerous cocktail of drugs which a generation of young Africans use to get their high or fix for relatively cheap. Everything from lizard dung and cobwebs to petrol fumes and rat poison are on the list of DIY drugs for a generation of poor, disenfranchised young urban Africans who feel there are few options for a better life.
With expensive illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin out of reach for many unemployed young people, they’re turning to a range of cheap options—and concoctions—to get high. The spreading addiction among Africa youth to cheap synthetic opioids brought in from China and India has had much press recently.
Tramadol, a pain relief drug, is flooding African cities including Khartoum, Libreville, Cairo and Accra. Last week, Nigeria banned codeine, typically found in cough syrups, following a BBC documentary which showed that a thriving black market trade involving insiders at some of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical companies.