Overview
What is Synthetic Stimulants?
Synthetic stimulants are a family of manufactured drugs that mimic the effects of natural stimulants like khat or cocaine, but at much higher intensity. The main categories relevant to Kenya are methamphetamine (crystal meth, tik) and synthetic cathinones (bath salts, flakka), which are chemical analogues of cathinone, the active compound in khat.
In October 2024, Kenya's Anti-Narcotics Unit arrested three Kenyans, two Nigerians, and a member of the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Namanga, south of Nairobi. This marked a significant escalation from Kenya being a transit country to being a production country.
Synthetic cathinones are particularly unpredictable because their chemical structures change constantly to evade drug laws. They are often sold as "bath salts," "plant food," or other disguised forms, and their actual contents can be unknown even to sellers.
What it does to the brain and body
How does it work?
Why people use it
What draws people to it?
Methamphetamine is used for its intense and prolonged energy, focus, and euphoria. It is popular in contexts where extended physical or mental performance is demanded.
Synthetic cathinones are often tried because they are cheap, relatively new, and perceived as not yet illegal. They are sometimes marketed as "legal highs."
In impoverished communities in South Africa, crystal meth (tik) is used to suppress hunger and manage poverty-related despair.
Short-term effects
What happens when someone uses it?
These effects can occur even with first-time or occasional use.
- Extreme euphoria and surge of energy lasting hours to days
- Severe loss of appetite
- Agitation, paranoia, and aggression
- Greatly elevated heart rate and blood pressure
- Hyperthermia (dangerously raised body temperature)
- Psychosis with hallucinations and delusions, even after first use
Long-term effects
What happens with regular or prolonged use?
- Severe and often permanent brain damage affecting the reward system and memory
- "Meth face": rapid ageing, severe dental decay, and skin sores
- Persistent psychosis even when not using the drug
- Heart attack and stroke from cardiovascular damage
- Extreme weight loss and malnutrition
- Social isolation, violence, and criminal behaviour
Recognising a problem
Signs that use may have become a problem
These signs apply to the person using the substance and can also help family members or friends recognise when help is needed.
- Staying awake for days followed by crashing for extended periods
- Dramatic personality change, increased aggression or paranoia
- Rapid weight loss and deteriorating physical appearance
- Unusual beliefs or hearing things that others cannot hear
- Self-inflicted wounds from tactile hallucinations (the sensation of insects under the skin)
Addiction and dependence
How addictive is it?
Methamphetamine is one of the most addictive substances known. The intense depletion of dopamine after use creates a crash so severe that users feel unable to function without the drug.
Unlike heroin or alcohol, there is no currently approved pharmacological treatment for methamphetamine addiction. Treatment relies on intensive behavioural therapy and is difficult and prolonged.
Overdose and acute danger
When does it become immediately dangerous?
- Chest pain, very rapid or irregular heartbeat
- Extremely high temperature: the body cannot regulate heat, leading to organ failure
- Stroke symptoms: sudden weakness, inability to speak, facial drooping
- Severe agitation or violent behaviour from psychosis
- Loss of consciousness
- Methamphetamine overdose is a medical emergency requiring immediate hospital care. Call 999.
Withdrawal
What happens when someone tries to stop?
Who is most affected
Groups particularly at risk in Kenya
South Africa's Cape Flats has one of the highest methamphetamine use rates in Africa. Crystal meth (tik) is endemic in communities in the Western Cape.
In Kenya, the drug is emerging in urban areas. Young people in the 18 to 30 age group are the primary target market for synthetic stimulants.
The involvement of the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel in production in Kenya suggests organised international criminal infrastructure is being established.
In Kenya
What the data says about Kenya
October 2024: Kenya Anti-Narcotics Unit discovered a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Namanga operated by Kenyans, Nigerians, and a Mexican cartel member. This was a landmark event confirming Kenya as a production site, not just a transit country.
NACADA's 2024 report on university students flagged synthetic drugs as a growing concern. NACADA CEO Anthony Omerikwa stated that the ease of obtaining precursor chemicals and local manufacturing capacity is driving the crisis.
The synthetic cathinone market exploits legal loopholes, with chemical formulas constantly modified to circumvent schedules. This makes regulation and prosecution challenging.
Across East and Central Africa
How is it used in the wider region?
| Country | Local name(s) | Context and notes |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Tik, Ice, Crystal | South Africa has the most established meth problem in Africa. Tik is endemic in Cape Flats communities. Treatment capacity is overwhelmed. |
| Nigeria | Ice, Crystal, Mkpuru mmiri | Mkpuru mmiri ('little crystal seeds') is the Nigerian name for crystal meth. Growing use documented in southern Nigeria. |
| Tanzania | Crystal, Synthetic Khat | Growing prevalence of synthetic cathinones documented in Dar es Salaam, sometimes sold as khat substitutes. |
| Ethiopia | Crystal, Synthetic | Emerging problem in Addis Ababa among urban youth. Limited treatment capacity. |
Getting help
Where to turn in Kenya
NACADA Helpline
Free, confidential counselling and referral to treatment centres near you. Available 24 hours a day.
Mathari National Hospital
Kenya's main national psychiatric and substance use treatment facility in Nairobi. Inpatient and outpatient services.
County referral hospitals
Every county in Kenya has a mental health and substance use service. Ask at your nearest hospital or health centre.
Sources
References
- ISS Africa. (2025). Kenya's growing role in global meth production. issafrica.org
- ENACT Africa. (2025). Access to precursor chemicals fuels synthetic drug production in Kenya. enactafrica.org
- National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA). (2025). Status of Drugs and Substance Use among University Students in Kenya 2024 (Abridged). Nairobi: NACADA.
- UNODC. (2023). World Drug Report 2023. Vienna: UNODC.