Khat in the Neighbourhood--Local Government Responses to Khat Use in a London Community

• NCJ Number: 223373
• Journal: Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 43 Issue: 6 Dated: 2008 Pages: 819-831
• Author(s): Axel Klein
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For other articles in this series, see NCJ-223369-72.

Annotation

This case study describes and analyzes how a local municipal authority in England responded constructively to neighborhood concerns about Somali residents' use of khat, a plant whose leaves or twigs are chewed for its stimulant and euphoric-producing qualities.

Abstract

It is to the credit of Streatham local government officers that at a time when the outcome of the status of khat use and sales in the United Kingdom hung in the balance in 2004, they opted for a conflict resolution that identified points of friction and sought to address underlying causes. One option the neighborhood council could have pursued would have been to establish a policy that khat is a harmful drug that ought to be controlled. This would have resulted in the revocation of the trading licenses of all the establishments that sold khat. Court proceedings would have eventually forced the closure of the businesses. Although the implementation of such a policy might have satisfied influential and high-profile lobbies at the expense of recently arrived immigrants with little representation in local government, it would have failed to give any consideration or weight to the position of Somalian khat users. Instead, the local government took the pathway of gaining a better understanding of the relationship between khat use and crime and other forms of antisocial behavior in the area. This was done through semistructured interviews on the experience of khat, khat use, crime, and antisocial behavior. Questionnaires were adapted to various respondents. Four focus groups were held with Somali and non-Somali residents and with khat users regarding issues linked to khat. Participant observation was conducted in the khat cafes and among resident groups. The report provided direction to the Neighborhood Office and contributed to the resolution of the tensions between non-Somali residents groups and the Somali residents. 17 references