Liberian women are leading the charge against the country's drug crisis
[August 08, 2025]
By MARK MENGONFIA
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Women's groups on Thursday led a protest of
thousands of people against a rampant drug problem in Liberia, urging
the government to declare a national emergency over the crisis and
enforce stricter punishment for drug abuse.
Marching through the capital, Monrovia, with banners and flags, the
demonstrators presented a petition at parliament that called for a
special court for drug cases and to increase the jail term for
first-degree drug-related felonies to a minimum of 20 years — currently
the maximum term limit.
The Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia, meanwhile, launched a
public campaign on Wednesday against drug use and deployed members to
carry out sensitization campaigns in communities.
One in five youths in the West African country are using illicit drugs
with more than 800 hubs known as “drugs dens” located across the
capital, according to the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, a similar
problem in some of its neighbors in Africa like Sierra Leone. The most
common drug in the region is kush, a cheap, synthetic drug found to
contain opioids that are sometimes deadly.
Addressing the drug crisis was a key campaign promise of President
Joseph Boakai before his election in late 2023. Activists, however,
accuse him of not doing enough to tackle the problem.
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A boy rolls kush at the Baghdad Den in Freetown, Sierra Leone, March
11, 2025. (AP Photo/Caitlin Kelly, File)
“We are raising our voices against the mockery of President Boakai’s
promises to rescue Liberia’s youth from the scourge of addiction,”
according to a statement from the women's groups of three of the
nation’s political parties that are part of the ongoing campaign.
Bowoulo Taylor Kelley, one of the leaders of the female lawyers, said
that the drug crisis is “destroying the future of our youth and women
are bearing the brunt.”
Joanna Jah, a resident who said her son is a victim of the drug crisis,
was among Thursday’s protesters.
“We have tried everything to keep them from the streets, but it has not
worked," Jah said. “This is an opportunity to speak out loud — that’s
why I took upon myself to form part of the march.”
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