Loading...
Done
“Catha edulis (khat, qat, or “edible kat”) is a flowering plant native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Among communities from these areas, khat chewing has a history as a social custom dating back thousands of years. Its fresh leaves and tops are chewed or, less frequently, dried and consumed as tea, to achieve a state of euphoria and stimulation; it also has anorectic side effects. The leaves or the soft part of the stem can be chewed with either chewing gum or fried peanuts to make it easier to chew.

Khat contains a monoamine alkaloid called cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite and euphoria. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a drug of abuse that can produce mild-to-moderate psychological dependence (less than tobacco or alcohol), although WHO does not consider khat to be seriously addictive. The plant has been targeted by anti-drug organisations such as the DEA. It is a controlled substance in some countries, such as Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while its production, sale, and consumption are legal in other nations, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen”. – Wikipedia


A khat farmer packs his crop at a collection point near his plantation in Maua, near Meru, eastern Kenya August 20, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

A khat farmer packs his crop at a collection point near his plantation in Maua, near Meru, eastern Kenya August 20, 2014. Grown on plantations in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia, tonnes of khat, or qat, dubbed “the flower of paradise” by its users, are flown daily into Mogadishu airport, to be distributed from there in convoys of lorries to markets across Somalia. Britain, whose large ethnic Somali community sustained a lucrative demand for the leaves, banned khat from July as an illegal drug. This prohibition jolted the khat market, creating a supply glut in Somalia and pushing down prices, to the delight of the many connoisseurs of its amphetamine-like high. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




A man chews khat in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

A man chews khat in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)



Somali men smoke and chew khat inside a makeshift building at night in Mogadishu August 6, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Somali men smoke and chew khat inside a makeshift building at night in Mogadishu August 6, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




A woman and her daughter arrange branches of khat into small bundles in Mogadishu August 9, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

A woman and her daughter arrange branches of khat into small bundles in Mogadishu August 9, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




Khat grows on a tree at a plantation in Maua, near Meru, eastern Kenya August 20, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Khat grows on a tree at a plantation in Maua, near Meru, eastern Kenya August 20, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




Porters gather around a truck carrying khat in Mogadishu August 6, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Porters gather around a truck carrying khat in Mogadishu August 6, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




Jiijo Sheik Mohamed (L-R), Faadumo Mohamed and Maryan Mohamed sit and chew khat in Mogadishu August 6, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Jiijo Sheik Mohamed (L-R), Faadumo Mohamed and Maryan Mohamed sit and chew khat in Mogadishu August 6, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




Ali Abdi, 14, and his friend Abdulahi Yaroow, 13, chew khat in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Ali Abdi, 14, and his friend Abdulahi Yaroow, 13, chew khat in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




Abdulahi Yaroow, 13, smokes a cigarette while chewing khat at the same time in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Abdulahi Yaroow, 13, smokes a cigarette while chewing khat at the same time in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)




Ali Abdi (R), 14, and his friend Abdulahi Yaroow, 13, chew khat, in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

Ali Abdi (R), 14, and his friend Abdulahi Yaroow, 13, chew khat, in Mogadishu August 10, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)
28 Aug 2014 10:35:00