Lankan caught with 'Khat'

Daily Mirror
Monday, December 30, 2013

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A Sri Lankan arriving from Kenya arrested at the Bandaranaike International Air Port with 50kgs of herbal narcotic 'Khat' which is a banned narcotic in most countries. This is the first time it has been detected in Sri Lanka, Customs said.

According to Wikipedia, Khat or qat is a flowering plant native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Among communities from these areas, khat chewing has a long history as a social custom dating back thousands of years.

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.

It is a controlled substance in some countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Germany, while its production, sale, and consumption are legal in other nations, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen.

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