Oh, Good Grief! Another Illegal Subtance: Khat

[3113]

...For centuries the "flower of paradise" has been used legally in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as a stimulant and social tonic. But in the United States khat is illegal, and an increased demand for the plant in cities such as Washington and San Diego is leading to stepped up law enforcement efforts and escalating clashes between narcotics officers and immigrants who defend their use of khat as a time-honored tradition.

In the last few years, San Diego, which has a large Somali population, has seen an almost eight-fold increase in khat seizures. Nationally, the amount of khat seized annually at the country's ports of entry has grown from 14 metric tons to 55 in about the last decade. Most recently, California joined 27 other states and the federal government in banning the most potent substance in khat, and the District of Columbia is proposing to do the same. "It is a very touchy subject. Some people see it like a drug; some people see it like coffee," said Abdulaziz Kamus, president of the African Resource Center in Washington, D.C. "You have to understand our background and understand the significance of it in our community."

Increased immigration from countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia has fueled the demand in this country and led to a cultural conflict. "We grew up this way, you can't just cut it off," said a 35-year-old Ethiopian medical technician between mouthfuls of khat as he sat with his friends in the office. 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.

Rest of the article here.

Okay, look. I don't want teen chewing or drinking this stuff either--and we know they will, just like they smoke cigarette and down alcohol. But really! Constipation and a general malaise? I'm so scared. The effects sound about as bad as a can of Red Bull. As for it leading to murders and such...the author of the old book Seduction of the Innocent, which postulated that comic books turned teen boys into juvenile delinquents, got this idea because such delinquents were reading comic books. I think we've got the same cart-before-the-horse mentality here.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Joel Anderson, huh? You know, there are some really strange people hiding out in San Diego county. And that's a shame because the place is really amiable and easy-going, for the most part. I guess we can chalk it up to the tradition that if you don't know much about it, it has to be bad. Look at those furrin tomato and potato things. Ever' one knows they's related to deadly nightshade so they must be poison.

 

[Liar]

Chewing Khat rots your teeth like a mofo.

 

[3113]

I'm just tired of people being so friggin' stupid about this. Something's kinda bad for people and it's a stimulant or gives them euphoric feelings...so outlaw it? Crowd the crowded jails with more faux criminals? Make tax payers pay more for police to charge these criminals, the court system to file the paperwork, the judges to sentence them and, yes, the jail to hold them????

Oy!

Once again, no, I don't want teenagers smoking, getting drunk or chewing this stuff. But the smart thing to do is to regulate. Simply regulate. Like you do cigarettes and alcohol. Make it illegal to sell to minors, sell it to adults in only certain places--like Khat teahouses or something, like they have cigar bars and hooka cafes, and tax it.

Because we fucking know what happens when you make something like this illegal. You get organized crime! So enough with making illegal substances that don't make people utterly crazy like angel dust or crack. If it's on level with marijuana, cigarettes, or Red Bull, then keep it legal, regulated and taxed. Make it bring in money rather than draining it out and use that money, if you must, for rehab or jails or health clinics for whatever problems the addicts (as there will always be addicts) will have.

 

[SlickTony]

More dividends for those who've got stock in the Prison Industrial Complex!

 

[wordofvirtue]

There have been several Somali immigrants here in Sioux City arrested for possession of khat. The whole War on Drugs bullshit just makes me crazy. "We" want to approach this problem using a zero tolerance model, but have you turned on the television or opened a magazine lately? There's comic book mucus being swept away by a pill and there's animated foot fungus chased away by a pill. Can't get it up? Ask your doctor! Got thin bones? Are you sad? Are you WAYYY too happy? Call your doctor! Can't sleep? Can't stay awake? Do you fidget? Bad menstrual cramps? Do you have to count the ceiling tiles 15 times before you can leave the house? For God sake, call your doctor and get the pills!!! But don't you DARE smoke some pot. Want something that expands your consciousness rather than pares it down to almost nothing? That makes you some kind of subversive! Call the police in that case! Never mind the fact that more people die every year directly due to "modern pharmaceuticals" prescribed by high holy doctors than all of the so-called illicit substances combined. Harm reduction is the way to go.....how many more thousands will be imprisoned, their futures marred by felony, before our lawmakers regain their sanity????

Oh yeah.....and I finally got an avatar up! Yipee!!

 

[Pure]

khat, and the alleged problem has appeared here in s. ontario, too.

i'm not sure if the Cdn. laws have been changed, but some folks want to 'control' it.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

It's time for a little cost-benefits analysis in this War On Drugs, not only for khat but for sub-drunk driving and second hand smoke.

I mean, it's no fun even going out to a bar anymore, for God's sake. You can't smoke, you can't drink. What's the fucking point?

The cafes of France are all closing, the pubs of Britain are following suit, and pretty soon no one will be going out at all, all because of anti-alcohol and anti-smoking laws.

 

[rgraham666]

Not to worry, doc. The bluenoses will find something else to ban for our own protection.

There's always something.