

Khat - is it more coffee or cocaine

By chillinwill · Jan 3, 2009 · ·
  1. chillinwill
    The narcotic leaf is a time-honored tradition in Africa but illegal in the U.S., where demand is growing










    In the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East, khat is a regular part of life, often consumed at social gatherings or in the morning before work and by students studying for exams. Users chew the plant like tobacco or brew it as a tea. It produces feelings of euphoria and alertness that can verge on mania and hyperactivity depending on the variety and freshness of the plant.

    But some experts are not convinced that its health and social effects are so benign. A World Health Organization report found that consumption can lead to increased blood pressure, insomnia, anorexia, constipation and general malaise. The report also said that khat can be addictive and lead to psychological and social problems.

    "It is not coffee. It is definitely not like coffee," said Garrison Courtney, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "It is the same drug used by young kids who go out and shoot people in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is something that gives you a heightened sense of invincibility, and when you look at those effects, you could take out the word 'khat' and put in 'heroin' or 'cocaine'."

    Khat comes from the leaves and stems of a shrub and must be shipped in overnight containers to preserve its potency. It contains the alkaloid cathinone, similar in chemical structure to amphetamine but about half as potent, according to Nasir Warfa, a researcher in cross cultural studies at Queen Mary University of London.

    The United Kingdom determined last year that evidence does not warrant restriction of khat. In the United States, the substance has been illegal under federal law since 1993.

    But the world supply of khat is exploding. Countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya now rely on it as a major cash crop to bolster their economies. Khat is Ethiopia's second largest export behind coffee.

    Khat usage has grown so much in San Diego that Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) wrote a 2008 bill that added cathinone and its derivative cathine to California's list of Schedule II drugs along with raw opium, morphine and coca leaves.

    As of Thursday, Anderson's bill made possession of khat a misdemeanor in California, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Possession of the leaf with intent to sell is a felony that carries a three-year maximum sentence in state prison.

    In some cases, khat seizures have resulted in warnings and probation. In other instances, like New York City's "Operation Somali Express" bust in 2006, which led to the seizure of 25 tons of khat worth an estimated $10 million, the perpetrators were sent to jail for up to 10 years.


    Khat leaves are sold attached to thick stalks or dried like tea leaves. A bundle of 40 leafed twigs costs about $28 to $50.

    The plant's cost has been linked to family problems, including domestic abuse, said Starlin Mohamud, a Somali immigrant who is completing a dissertation on khat at San Diego State University.



    Not all lawmakers, however, support the increased efforts to prosecute khat sellers and users. California state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) called khat use "a minor problem that may be nonexistent and little understood" and voted against Anderson's bill.

    "The Legislature cannot continue to add on penalties and punishments filling up critically overcrowded prison system without weighing the consequences on how this will affect California," she said.

    Even though khat smuggling continues to grow in the United States, the level is nowhere near that of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroine and methamphetamine. Still, law enforcement officials worry that in a refined, stronger and more portable form, khat could spread outside the immigrant communities.

    In Israel, a pill known as hagigat (essentially Hebrew for "party khat"), has emerged on the club scene.

    "I don't think we are going to see American teenagers chewing the plant," said Phil Garn, a U.S. postal inspector in San Diego. "But based on what I saw with meth and how it spread across the country, I can absolutely see how khat in a refined form could be a major problem."

    By Cynthia Dizikes
    January 3, 2009
    LA Times


  1. Sven99
    Surely making khat illegal just increases the likelyhood of it being more refined, to increase its potency and increase profits.
  2. NeuroChi
    So try to prohibit it like alcohol? That clearly didn't work back in the 1920's, and it sure as hell won't work now.
  3. Pondlife
    This decision was based on the December 2005 ACMD report "Khat (Qat): Assessment of Risk to the Individual and Communities in the UK.". This report is available here:


    It contains some information pertinent to this news article, and gives the reasoning behind ACMD's decision to recommend that it be left uncontrolled in the UK.
  4. cannabis-sam
    The head of the AMCD's who published a study of the 20 most dangerous drugs in britain classed it 20 with ecstacy being 18 cannabis 11 and alcohol 5.

    I think most of those can be associated with caffiene actually. DEA are fucking idiots.
  5. sunyata
    Yes, the reason why "kids" are shooting people in Iraq and Afghanistan is because they are tweaking on Khat, not because they are fighting an invasion.
    Good reasoning, I guess we should blame the bombing of Dresden with excessive green tea use by the allied forces.

    This is just harassment of African muslims, a way to say "f**k you culture".
    It must be confusing for somalis in my country to know that Khat is considered a dangerous drug, while they see white children and adults completely out of control due to binge drinking when the weekend comes.
    Then again, that is something that has been confusing pot-smokers in my country for some time too.
  6. RoboCodeine7610
    Not just that, but it'll probably increase the production of "Methcathinone" a substance almost like khat but more potent and with a synthesis even a 10-year old could follow...
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