Hundreds of tons of khat, a leafy plant chewed as a stimulant in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, are being smuggled into Europe and North America via Britain, according to a UN report released Tuesday. “If it`s illegal, the money goes up and the criminals come in,” he said. “You can never get rid of khat. If they try, they will only make things worse. The committee told Home Secretary Theresa May: “Khat has no direct causal link to adverse medical effects. There is no strong evidence to suggest a direct link between khat use and psychosis. “It is a plant called Khat or Miraa or – mystical – `tea of the Arabs`. Users chew the bitter leaves of this natural stimulant. It is said to make them more alert and increase energy levels, which is why proponents of khat say it are as harmless as coffee or tea. You`ve probably never heard of methcathinone, but you`ll have heard of mephedrone. This has a similar structure to methcathinone, but with an extra methyl group attached to the benzene ring. It was first manufactured around 1929, but languished mostly in oblivion until it was rediscovered ten years ago and marketed as a legal high.
Around 60 tonnes of khat are imported into the UK every week, leading to allegations of abuse by immigrant communities, particularly Somalis. It has also been claimed that a large proportion of British imports are secretly re-exported to Europe and the United States. Khat is already banned in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. Dried leaves can also be used in this way, although they have less potency. Some khat users also smoke the drug, turn it into tea, or sprinkle it on food. While some countries (Canada, Ireland, South Africa) have considered legalizing marijuana, Uruguay appears to be the only country where it is truly legal to produce and consume cannabis, although even there it is a highly regulated process that involves user registration. Opinions are divided on whether a khat ban in the UK is the right thing to do. “They don`t eat food, they don`t sleep when they abuse khat,” he said. “This causes major mental health problems and the evidence is that Somali nervous breakdown is increasing.” “They felt that Khat was preventing the Somali community from integrating; This distracted husbands and sons from the education and jobs their wives and mothers desperately desired.
Some security experts have even argued that the East African extremist group al-Shabaab has benefited from the export and sale of khat. Considered an alternative to ecstasy or cocaine, mephedrone was launched worldwide around 2008 as soon as it could be purchased on the Internet, in part because the ecstasy supply was no longer reliable. In a short period of time, doctors saw patients with symptoms such as chest pain, high blood pressure, and tachycardia. It appeared to act like amphetamines, increasing levels of neurotransmitter molecules such as dopamine and norepinephrine. At the time, it was legal, but its safety was questionable; Unlike the type of prescription medication you get from your doctor, it didn`t come in packages with printed instructions telling people how much to take. Mr. Noah also disputes the idea that khat does not affect the mental health of those who chew it for hours. He insists that this is the case because of the insomnia it triggers. And as the minister points out, Mr Noah – from Hayes, west London – has managed to enlist the support of many Somali women who fear that men who use khat will not treat their families properly because of their habit.
In Western Europe, there are fears that the sale of khat could be used to finance terrorism. Last year, the Huffington Post UK reported that all aspects of khat, from its cultivation to the purees where it is sold and chewed, support the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia. The two main stimulants of khat speed up the mind and body of the user, like a less potent amphetamine. The Dutch government obviously believes that khat is anything but harmless. Earlier this year, he announced plans for a ban, which she said was justified by the “social harm” khat can cause. A decision on the ban is expected before the September elections. A government spokeswoman said a ban on the substance would help Somali communities better integrate into Dutch society. In Canada, the United States and most European countries, khat is a controlled substance that is often classified in the same category as cocaine. However, traditional khat users resist this association.
“It would certainly make it harder for people to drive in the UK,” she said. “Human traffickers use countries where the substances are still legal.” Fresh khat is usually chewed, then held in the cheek and chewed intermittently until the juice is extracted. Dried khat can be brewed into tea or made into a chewing paste. Less common methods of administering khat include smoking or spraying food. The immediate effects of using khat include increased heart and breathing rate, increased body temperature and blood pressure, and increased alertness, arousal, energy, and chatter.