NCJ Number
224124
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2008 Pages: 631-648
Date Published
2008
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the criminal, chemical, and cultural dimensions of khat, an African evergreen tree whose leaves are chewed daily by six million people as a stimulant.
Abstract
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lists khat as one of the “drugs of abuse” and expounds on the intricacies of the plant under the rubric of illegal stimulants. According to the DEA, khat contains “a number of chemicals, among which are two controlled substances, cathinone (Schedule I) and cathine (Schedule IV). Usually khat arrives in the United States “five or six days after picking” (Gardiner, 2006). Thirty or 48 hours after harvesting, the cathinone in the plant decomposes and migrates to the Schedule IV cathine, and any claim that khat always contains cathine is unsubstantiated. Currently, the United States has replaced the United Kingdom as the world leader in the war on khat users. In a U.S. Court of Appeals’ decision that reversed a khat conviction, Judge John D. Holschuh concurred with the majority decision but also dissented. In his view, the court’s opinion did not go far enough. He wanted the court to mention the larger cultural implications at the heart of the anti-khat crusade. He noted that “the regulation in the present case is aimed at groups of immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Eritrea, and other countries where use of the khat plant is an accepted and important part of the lifestyles of the people” (Sixth, 2005, p. 857). He further noted that Muslims use khat “during the period of Ramadan . . . to alleviate fatigue and reduce hunger.” 4 tables and 75 references