Keeping Cool as a Khat

Khat or Chat is a narcotic plant banned in the United States and most European counties.

“Khat’s main psychoactive ingredients are cathinone, which is almost chemically identical to amphetamine, and the milder cathine (norpseudoephedrine). Cathinone prompts the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, bringing lucidity, heightened alertness and euphoria.” - Niren Tolsi

A growing demand for the leaf both locally and in neighboring countries is fuelling the business. The number of Ethiopian youths chewing khat has exponentially increased in the last two decades. As if to complement the need for more supply, the coffee crisis (1997-2003) led some coffee farmers to resort to growing khat.
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Keeping cool as a khat


Niren Tolsi
Mail & Guardian

May 19, 2007

The buzz of an electric haircutter accompanies the comings and goings in one of downtown Durban’s derelict buildings. Men, mainly Ethiopian, come in for a haircut, others, to poke their heads through a door in the barber shop wall to a small cubicle.

The woman inside respond to their requests in Amharic by holding up a neatly stacked bunch of green and crimson leaves on newspaper. Money is exchanged and the customer sets off for an evening of heightened alertness and animated chatter.

They have bought khat, a plant chewed in the Horn of Africa and Middle East for centuries, mainly as a social lubricant that predates coffee.

“You can spend hours chatting and staying cool without getting aggressive,” says Abebe* a 25-year-old Eritrean who has studied in South Africa for six years.

“Students in Ethiopia use it when they’re studying and it’s part of the culture -- people gather in the afternoons to chew and talk. In eastern Ethiopia rural families gather at the end of the day on mattresses, light incense sticks and have a nice chat. Meles Zenawi [Ethiopia’s president] used to use it,” says Abebe, who has chewed khat since he was 17.

In his flat near the beachfront, he carefully picks the leaves off the top of long stems, popping them into his mouth and chewing carefully. Tigringa music is playing, and peanuts and cold drinks aid mastication.

Abebe’s three bunches were bought for R60 each. Khat sells in Durban for between R30 and R60 depending on freshness and quality, and is chewed within 48 hours of harvesting.

This shipment has just arrived from Mpumalanga, and the leaves are succulent and fresh.

According to a 1999 submission to Parliament’s safety and security committee, khat was the most confiscated drug at OR Tambo International Airport in the first six months of that year -- 287kg were confiscated, compared with 56kg of cocaine and 66kg of marijuana.

Figures have since dropped and police say it now barely registers on their radar. Khat users say this is because the crop is now grown around East London, Nelspruit and Ermelo.

The people we spoke to said that besides the “odd black or coloured person”, locals have not started chewing khat. Demeke* says this could be due to South African’s reticence to engage with other Africans and their cultures: “South Africa is not receptive to foreigners from Africa. I’ve lived here six years and it’s never felt like home,” he says.

Demeke, a businessman with Eritrean roots, fled Ethiopia in 1999 during escalating tensions between the two countries. The government was expelling Eritreans, and his property, stock in his spare-goods shop and passport were confiscated.

By train, ship, bus and on foot, he spent a month travelling via Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique to South Africa. Yet to be granted asylum-seeker status, he is still here illegally.

“You can’t start a life in South Africa; I want to go to America, Canada or Australia,” he says, detailing an immigration plan which will cost him R30 000, bribes included.

After an hour’s chewing, Abebe’s eyes become shinier and his conversation more animated. For four hours there is talk about hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Abebe’s experiences of military training, Rasta and Ethiopia, and family members.

Chewing some khat I expect a Cadillac Express joyride, but I only taste the bitterness of the leaves. My dry mouth hinders speech. No euphoria, no epiphanies.

* Not their real names
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The factsThe catha edulis plant, or khat, is found mainly in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Yemen. It is also found in South Africa, known as Bushman’s Tea, but there is little evidence of historical use.

The export of khat from Africa to Europe has increased in recent years -- the industry is conservatively valued at €150-million a year.

Khat’s main psychoactive ingredients are cathinone, which is almost chemically identical to amphetamine, and the milder cathine (norpseudoephedrine). Cathinone prompts the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, bringing lucidity, heightened alertness and euphoria.

Studies in Yemen, where children as young as 10 chew khat, indicate that heart attacks are 49% higher among khat chewers. Prolonged abuse can lead to gastric, oesophageal and mouth cancer.

Like cannabis, it is psychologically addictive; prolonged use can spark psychosis in people with no history of mental illness. Cathinone is also found in the synthetically produced cat (methacathinone).

Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Vish Naidoo said khat was “not a problem on our streets, but is on our list of prohibited substances”.

According to Superintendent Jan Rehder of the organised crime unit in Pretoria, cathinone and cathine are dependence-producing alkaloids controlled under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act and the Medicines Control Act. -- Niren Tolsi