Liberia is grappling with a growing crisis caused by kush, a synthetic drug known as the 'zombie drug' because it leaves users disoriented and stupefied in the streets. The drug, which contains nitazenes — synthetic opioids many times more potent than heroin — has killed thousands of young people across West Africa, and Liberia's president declared a national health emergency in 2024. An estimated one in five young Liberians uses illegal drugs, with kush increasingly common at around €0.50 a dose; research has found that its chemical precursors are shipped to West Africa largely from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Women addicted to kush face particular dangers, as shame, fear of losing their children, and social stigma push them to the margins, leaving them exposed to sexual exploitation and unable to seek help. Outside Monrovia (Liberia's capital), a locally founded organisation called Women Rescue Daughters runs a rehabilitation clinic that operates without foreign funding, offering women a nine-month programme of medical treatment, skills training, and peer support. Founded five years ago by Gertrude Harris and other community women, the clinic has helped hundreds of patients, including 27-year-old Jacqueline, who arrived pregnant and gave birth there. 'I feel human again,' she said.