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January 2, 2007

Somalia: Islamists Disappear, People Get High Again

On Monday, the port of Kismayo in the south of Somalia was recaptured from the Islamists. The port had been seized on September 25. Within three days of the Islamists taking control, there were riots in the city. The Islamists had banned the sale of khat in Kismayo and had seized three journalists in the port. They had closed down a radio station, Horn-Afrik Radio, as it had reported on protests in Kismayo.

A 13-year old boy had been killed in the protests. As well as banning the sale of the stimulant khat, the Islamists had also banned tobacco. One Kismayo khat trader said: "If they continue interfering with our khat trade we will create a big problem for them. Khat is our life, if they stop it, we better die."

In November, the Islamists had banned consumption of khat nationally.

Yesterday, the defense minister of the UN-formed transitional government, Bare Aden Shire ("Bare Hilale") has returned to Kismayo, his former power-base. He was a warlord, linked with the Juba Valley Alliance, a militia group. He said: "The former JVA is nothing here and is not functioning right now in the region but the government is taking the role of introducing peace and stability in the region."

Today, Reuters reports that as the Islamists have gone from Kismayo, so the consumption of khat has begun to return. Similarly, people smoke cigarettes openly.

After the Islamists took control of Mogadishu on June 5, they banned the sale of khat in the city. This plant is chewed by most Somali men. A Mogadishu resident said he was pleased that khat had returned, as "it gives us some energy".

Khat-chewing is used by Somalis much as the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca) is used by indigenous people in Bolivia and Peru. It was recorded by Lewis Lewin in 1935 to have been used extensively in the region. He said it was employed to produce excitation, banish sleep, and promote communication. It is said to have medicinal uses.

So what is khat? It is the leafy parts of the plant Catha edulis (also called Celastrus edulis). It contains two active ingredients which mimic the actions of amphetamine, cathine and the stronger alkaloid, cathinone.

The Drug Enforcement Agency listed khat as a level IV substance, but now cathinone has been listed as a schedule 1 narcotic. Cathine is a schedule IV substance. There has been little interest in pursuing the khat trade in the US until recently. Cathine remains in the plant for some time, but the stronger cathinone has normally vanished after 48 hours.

There is now a street trade in a synthetic version of cathinone, called Methcathinone or "Cat". Because cathinone disappears quickly, the international khat trade relies mainly upon flight to transport the drug. It grows throughout the Horn of Africa naturally, and probably originated from Yemen.

The plant can grow into a tree of 10 to 20 feet height. Only the young shoots are gathered, and these are bundled together.

In Britain, where Tony Blair recently chose to make the possession of magic mushrooms (Psilocybe spp) punishable with a jail sentence of up to seven years, absolutely NO legislation has been made against the drug. It is imported openly, mainly to centers of Somali population such as Deptford and other parts of east London, and is chewed openly, with no penalty. So much for political correctness, under a government that does not wish to offend its Muslim immigrants. Large amounts of money can be made from importation of the drug.

In June 2005, the issue of khat usage in Britain was discussed in parliament. There followed in the fall of 2005 a Home Office report was produced. A survey of Somalis from November 2005 found that only half agreed that the drug should be made illegal.

In January 2006 there was a hope that the drug would be made illegal, but in order not to offend the Muslims, Blair's government chickened out of being seen to be imposing any sort of controls, even an import tax, upon the raw drug. However, cathinone and cathine are classed under the Misuse of Drugs Act in Britain as "Class C" drugs. The plant is outlawed in Canada, Ireland, Sweden and Norway.

It is said by some in the Somali community to be not particularly harmful if consumed within a cultural and social context. But there are fears that young people without jobs or lacking structure in their lives could be particularly at risk. It is linked to heart problems and the onset of mental disorders.

More information on khat can be found HERE and HERE.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 2, 2007 11:42 PM

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