Letting the Khat out of the bag!

And a wonderful day to you, my friend! Nice to see you. Help yourself to a fresh cup of Arabica and a tasty treat from the top shelf. Always choose from the top shelf because calories hate heights. So what are we going to chew on today? Well…let’s not chew on any Khat.

I’m sure you’ve heard of ‘Meth’, a drug popular with teens and nightclubbers. One version is Mephedrone. Like several other stimulant drugs, it owes its existence to a naturally occurring plant. Plant-derived stimulants include cocaine, which occurs naturally in leaves of the coca plant, and caffeine, found naturally in the seeds (beans) of the coffee plant. Mephedrone is not itself a natural product but is closely related to compounds found in the leaves of a plant called khat (Catha edulis). Not surprisingly therefore it is also known as MCAT, meph, drone, miaow, meow, miaow miaow and meow meow.

Khat is a flowering shrub with evergreen leaves, native to East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is known by many other names including qat, gat, qaat, mirra and Abyssinian tea. It has been consumed for centuries in this part of the world and the stimulant properties were probably known before those of coffee. 

Khat users take several fresh leaves and crush them in the mouth, tucking the wad of leaves into the cheek, creating a recognisable bulge. The active chemicals are slowly released from the wad of leaves leading to a state of euphoria and arousal. 

Traditionally, khat has been a social drug with its use being similar to those of coffee or alcohol in other cultures. It is also used to combat hunger and physical fatigue and to improve attention. Khat is particularly popular in Yemen, where up to 80% of men and 40% of women chew it regularly. 

Although use of khat may be important socially, it is not without its problems. Some of these include a psychological dependence on the drug, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, effects on the cardiovascular system and oral cancers. People may also spend long periods in a semi-intoxicated state to the detriment of family life and work. Disproportionate amounts of household income may be spent on khat leaving insufficient money for food. And because it is so profitable, growing khat now consumes a large proportion of the agricultural resource of Yemen, particularly irrigation water. 

The stimulant properties of khat do not last very long once the leaves have been picked, and until recently this restricted its use to areas where the plant grows. However, access to air freight and increased knowledge of the plant has made the leaves available in other parts of the world. And although its use remains illegal in many countries, khat is not illegal in the UK and immigrants from Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen are the principal users. 

Hey, I get enough stimuli from life itself without having to chew on anything other than regular food.

See ya!

Bob

Comment from Dennis in Toronto:

Not to mention, coconut halves are essential in imitating the sound of horses' hooves in Monty Python movies.