Trafficking in what?
For most Americans, the only reference point for khat could well be “Black Hawk Down,” the 2001 movie in which glassy-eyed Somali boy-soldiers face off with U.S. Special Forces. In the fictionalized account of the 1993 battle for Mogadishu, an Army Ranger warns his comrades before a confrontation with local militiamen that they should exercise abundant caution because by late afternoon their foes will be “all f----d up on khat.”
Khat has been used in social and religious settings in Somalia and surrounding countries for centuries, mainly by men. Taxi drivers, students — and boy-soldiers — use it stay alert and quash hunger. Migrants from the Horn of Africa, including some 150,000 Somalis who have come to the United States since the early 1990s, brought the habit with them.
Most khat users chew it — storing the wad of leaves in a cheek while swallowing the juices, though it also can be made into tea. They describe the effects as wakefulness, euphoria and talkativeness. Its defenders liken it to coffee drinking in other cultures.
There are side effects associated with khat use, however, such as insomnia, followed by exhaustion and testiness, and a list of more serious risks for long-term users. Women complain that it makes men lazy, sexually impotent and is a waste of scant financial resources.
Like most vices, its impact on society is hotly debated.
Sgt. Ben Casuccio, a narcotics officer with the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department, said the drug has had a negative impact on the large Somali community in his city and is a potential "gateway drug" to stronger substances.
"These people, as soon as it comes in, they start using it. ... Other people in the community complain about problems it causes," including domestic disputes and making users not to want to go to work, he said.
But many experts say there is no evidence that its appeal extends beyond its cultural pull.
“This is a very culturally specific drug,” said Peter Reuter, a professor at the University of Maryland’s department of criminology. “It’s so hard to think that there’s a great public issue here. It’s not that khat has become the new yuppie drug. … It’s got no cachet.”
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The United States has taken a hard line on khat, but the law that applies to it is ambiguous. It is this legal gray area that is being debated in court.
“There are issues in this case that are not issues (in other drug cases),” said Sam Schmidt, an attorney for one of the defendants in the New York case. “If it’s a cocaine or marijuana case, you don’t have issues about whether it is a drug or not.”
Fresh khat contains cathinone, a stimulant that is internationally controlled under United Nations agreements and listed as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, alongside heroin and LSD.
Disappearing evidence
But the cathinone in khat begins breaking down the moment the plant is harvested and begins its long journey from the highlands of east Africa to U.S. cities. Even the DEA agrees that after about 48 hours — and no more than 72 — the cathinone is essentially gone, leaving behind a milder stimulant, cathine, possession of which is a misdemeanor. The typical shipping time, from the field in Africa, via Europe to end users in the United States, is about four days.
Rapid cathinone decay creates urgency for sellers and enforcers alike. Traffickers often wrap it in banana leaves to try to preserve its freshness during shipping.
And law-enforcement agencies that intercept khat typically rush it to the nearest lab in refrigerated containers to test it before the active ingredient vanishes.
The levels of cathinone in khat seized during raids in New York were “detectable,” which the government maintains is enough to convict. But defense attorneys have challenged the tests, arguing that they may have reversed the breakdown process and produced traces of cathinone from cathine.
Defense attorneys also have filed motions seeking to suppress evidence gained from wiretapping, arguing that DEA did not have probable cause to believe that any of the banned substance would be present in the khat by the time it arrived in the United States.
One such motion already has been rejected, but U.S. District Judge Denise Cote made it clear in remarks accompanying her ruling that prosecutors must prove that the defendants conspired to import and traffic cathinone, not just khat.
Not always a federal priority
In the past, khat has not been taken very seriously by federal authorities.
Federal sentencing guidelines equate possession of 100 kilograms of khat — roughly three or four large suitcases full — with possession of 1 kilogram of marijuana or 1 gram of heroin.
For years, when travelers were caught at the airport carrying khat, the plant would be seized and the travelers sent back home. And khat is not once mentioned in the 95-page National Drug Control Strategy for 2007.
Some states also are taking a tougher stance.
Mike Weinman, legislative liaison from the Columbus Police Department, is pressing for changes in Ohio — home to about 40,000 Somali immigrants — that would make it easier to prosecute khat possession cases.
"The problem is getting worse," he said. "We've got officers who are walking into bars where everyone is chewing khat. What do you do with these people? The officers call narcotics and there's not really much they can do."
The exception to that rule is the 2001 case of Mahad Samatar, who was prosecuted in Ohio's first khat trial. Samatar was arrested after picking up a 66-pound khat shipment that was intended for guests at a Somali wedding. Despite being a first time offender, Samatar received a mandatory-minimum 10-year sentence. Many in the community believe the heavy penalty, which came right after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, was the result of a prevailing anti-Muslim mood.
CONTINUED: TERRORISTS PROFITING FROM KHAT?