“…kush abusers come from all walks of life, from the suburbs to small towns. Massive overdose outbreaks caused by bad batches of kush have hospitalized dozens of people at a time, not only in Houston but across the country. On June 23, 17, people in Hermann Park were hospitalized after overdosing on kush. Less than two weeks later, 33 people overdosed on kush on a single block in Brooklyn. Days after the Brooklyn episode, 20 people in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were treated for kush overdoses in a two-day span. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calls to poison control centers regarding kush jumped 221 percent from 2014 to 2015 alone. The nationwide epidemic is showing no signs of slowing down, and the situation in Houston is no different. Law enforcement is struggling to keep up.”
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Curtis, 51, smokes kush under an overpass near Wheeler Metro Station in Midtown. -
Curtis, 51, smokes kush under an overpass near Wheeler Metro Station in Midtown. -
Connie Masterson (left) and her son, Joe (right) say they regularly smoke kush. It’s frequently sold, bought, and used near Wheeler Metro Station in Midtown, one of multiple kush hotspots in the city. -
Kush packaging is often colorful, like candy, and sold as incense, though it’s mostly smoked for the high it produces. -
A Harris County Sheriff’s officer finds what appears to be a blunt rolled with kush as an EMS crew responds to a man passed out nearby, in downtown Houston. -
The city’s EMS crews say they respond to multiple kush-related incidents each day, often in the same spots of the city. -
Paramedics say they often encounter kush users who are passed out, but the symptoms vary—sometimes they’re combative, and their heart rates can skyrocket or be extremely slow. -
According to paramedics from HFD’s downtown station, nine out of ten kush calls they get are for people who appear to be homeless. -
A man who passed out after likely smoking kush is treated in an emergency room in downtown Houston. -
The man woke up shortly after he was admitted. He denied that he had smoked kush or had ever used drugs, refused treatment, and was released back to the street almost immediately. Paramedics say they often treat the same people for kush multiple times in the same day. -
Kush is sold under many different names, including Space Cadet, Climax, Gorilla, and Avalanche. -
According to the Houston Forensic Science Center, kush is a challenging drug to identify in labs, because it’s easily tweaked into a chemically unique compound. -
James Deavours is a recovering kush addict living in the Open Mission rehab facility on Houston’s East End. -
Emily Bauer (wheelchair), of Cypress, nearly died when she was 16-years old and smoked kush, resulting in five strokes. She has since recovered with the help of her mother, Tonya (standing), and created SAFE, an organization that spreads awareness about kush. -
Bauer still can’t stand on her own for more than ten seconds, and she is relearning how to do simple human functions, like reading and writing and feeding herself. -
While recent state legislation banned the selling of kush in stores, it’s still easily available on the street. -
Rickanthony Bailey, of the Third Ward, is a recovering drug addict at Open Mission. He says kush was stronger than any other drug he’s used, including crack. -
The area near the Wheeler Street Metro station in Midtown is a hotspot for kush users. Day and night, men and women pass out from the effects of the drug.