Khat Concerns Rise as Use in U.S. Grows

Commonly referred to as Khat Corner, the mildly narcotic drug khat is sold at the corner intersection outside Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.  Khat (pronounced "Cot"), which is native to the region around Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen, produces an effect similar to (but usually less intense than) that of methamphetamine or cocaine. Many khat users chew fresh leaves from the plant, while others dry the leaves and then smoke them, brew them into a tea, or make them into a paste, which is also chewed. Though the drug is thought to pre-date coffee, most Americans have neither used nor heard of it - but if a series of high-profile arrests and seizures are any indication, khat's relative anonymity in the western hermisphere may be changing. The latest high profile arrest just came January 1, 2010, outside a gas station in Memphis, Tennessee.

Residents of the Ethiopian, Somali, and Yemeni communities in places like Washington, D.C., chew dried khat leaves socially, and use is accepted even though khat is illegal in the U.S.  "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."  Anti-khat law enforcement has been increased as demand for the drug has grown in immigrant communities in D.C., San Diego, Baltimore,  Philadelphia, Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, Dallas, Detroit, and New York. The main active ingredient in khat, cathinone, is banned in 28 states and the federal government. The World Health Organization says the drug can be addictive and lead to psychological and social problems as well as high blood pressure, insomnia, anorexia, constipation, and malaise.  U.S. officials also worry that refined versions of khat could emerge, as they have in Israel.

According to an assessment posted on the World Health Organization's website, khat use "induces a state of euphoria and elation with feelings of increased alertness and arousal"  In addition to taking khat for the high it produces, users also ingest the plant as a means of fighting fatigue and staving off hunger (the drug also serves as an appetite suppressant).

The two primary psychoactive compounds in khat are cathinone and cathine: 

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  Cathinone, which is believed to have the greater effect on khat users, is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, meaning that in the eyes of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the substance has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value.
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  Cathine is categorized as a Schedule IV drug, meaning that it has a low potential for abuse, and is currently accepted for use in medical treatment.

Long-term use of khat can lead to malnutrition, depression, gastro-intestinal disorders, cardiovascular problems, hemorrhoids, and impaired sexual function in males.

In Djibouti and the Horn of Africa, Khat is much more than a psychotropic plant.  It is the basis of a lifestyle and plays a dominant role in all male activities - celebrations, marriages, business proceedings, and political meetings. Within the Horn of Africa, Khat is used by the lowliest goatherd and loftiest government minister. It defines the rhythms of the day.  Offices close at 2 p.m., allowing plenty of time to chew ... they sprawl on cushions, puffing on water pipes or cigarettes and sipping from water bottles to combat the dehydration that is one of the Kaht's side effects. Conversations, which flows rapidly at the outset, wanes as the Khat begins to take effect and the chewers approach "Soloman's hour," an introspective time that is often accompanied by the playing of the oud ... the typical session lasts from three to four hours, after which the chewer spits out his wad of Khat-mulch and goes home.

KHAT IN THE UNITED STATES

Experts believe that one of the primary reasons that khat use has not caught on in the United States is that the drug does not have a long "shelf life" during which it can be harvested, transported, and distributed. Smuggling fresh leaves from a plant in Yemen to a user in the United States without losing the drug's potency is a challenging proposition, though the difficulty has not dissuaded all attempts.  In 2006, over 25 tons of khat were brought into New York.  In 2007, 2.5 tons of khat was seized n Philadelphia.  In January 2008, Police at the Hector International Airport in North Dakota seized 600 pounds of khat. 

The U.S. Department of Justice believes that most khat use in the United States takes place within Somali, Yemen, and Ethiopian communities, but that increases in seizures of the drug indicate that it may be becoming more popular in other populations as well. 

Khat is generally shipped cold and moist (usually in coolers and often wrapped in wet paper and/or banana leaves) to slow the breakdown of cathinone to cathine.  The picture above is believed to have been dried or freeze-dried as an alternate means to preserve the cathinone.

Some traditional khat-using communities in the U.S. condemn tighter restrictions while others welcome attempts to control khat because of its links to domestic abuse and other family problems.  "I have seen what it does", said Starlin Mohamud, a Somali immigrant writing a dessertation on khat at San Diego State University.  "Families who are trying to make ends meet on a daily basis cannot affort it.  It just creates so many problems between a husband and wife to the point where a broken family is going to be the result."  These are the same sentiments expressed by students in our English Discussion Groups here in Djibouti.