CULTURES CLASH ON STREETS OVER CANADA'S BAN ON KHAT

Somalis call the drug a mild stimulant, but officials say it could be
harmful The banned substance khat doesn't give t he same bang for the buck
as cocaine, marijuana or even coffee, say members of Toronto's Somali
community. The buzz from khat is more like that from a couple of cans of
Coke, they argue.

But that makes no difference to Health Canada officials, who classify it as
a mood-altering amphetamine.

For Somalis, khat is part of a centuries-old tradition. And chewing the
tender shoots, which are torn from an African tree, is part of their culture.

"Khat is to Somalis what tea is to the English," said Omar Abdi, a
co-ordinator of a Somali student group who came to Canada in 1993.

Khat's use is largely restricted to Somali men and usually reserved for
when they congregate in conversation, says another member of Toronto's
Somali community.

"I started chewing khat when I was 9. We use it like a social lubricant -
like Canadians use beer," said cabbie Afrah Abukar. "We bite into khat to
suck out the juice and then we spit it out like chewing tobacco," he said.

"It's harmless."

`I'd rather my boys chew khat than drink beer'

Not so, says a spokesperson for Health Canada - khat's been banned in this
country for good reason.

"It is illegal because it creates a sense of euphoria in the user, it
elevates the mood and sometimes causes hallucination," said Roslyn
Tremblay. "Khat has potentially harmful effects."

In fact, Tremblay says, Canada's ban was mandated by the United Nations,
which has called for the worldwide ban of khat.

But a spokesperson for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in Ottawa
calls the drug's effects "mild" in comparison to those of heroin, cocaine
and even marijuana.

"There is not a lot of research on the drug, but it is addictive like any
other stimulant - even caffeine," said director of communications Richard
Garlick. "But on a scale of addictive substances in this country, khat's
impact doesn't even make a bleep on the radar screen."

Garlick questions how Health Canada classifies controlled substances.

"Health Canada did not come to us when it included khat on its list. I
don't know what the decision was based on," he said.

"There are other drugs like ma huang, a natural stimulant favoured by
health food stores. It was declassified after lobbying from the health food
stores. How is Health Canada deciding that one community will have use of
their drug, ma huang, but another community won't, khat?"

Tremblay maintains that the plant is a mild narcotic and freely admits that
Health Canada has not conducted any clinical study on its effects but
relies instead on European studies.

Health Canada's position does nothing to change the views of one social
worker in Toronto's Somali community, who says khat was freely distributed
in Toronto before a 1997 ban.

"I don't think the Canadian government will be happy until Somali men have
traded in their khat for a case of 2-4," said Jibril Mohamud, adding that
Toronto's 75,000 Somalis are desperate to maintain a cultural identity that
includes the drug.

"Really, you don't even feel the effects of khat, it is so mild," he said.
"It's a social thing, more than anything else."

It's criminalization of khat here in Canada that has sparked allegations of
police harassment in the Somali community, says Abdi, one of the few
willing to go public about the dispute.

"Why are the police so active to enforce drug laws on a harmless drug?"
asked Abdi, who says khat is used by many Somalis to adhere to Muslim law.
Somalia is an Islamic country.

"By Muslim tradition, we are not allowed to drink," Abdi said. "Khat is a
kind of an outlet for fun."

The 23-year-old says the police presence in his community seems out of step
with the relatively small number of Somali men who use the drug. He and
others peg that number at between 20 and 30 per cent.

It's the kind of presence they say led to conflict with police last
Saturday. Four Somali men were arrested in a search for khat at a mall near
Lawrence Ave. W. and Jane St.

But police officials say their officers were attacked by a crowd of about
30 Somalis, who tried to prevent them from making arrests for khat dealing.

"The incident on Saturday is an example of the kind of harassment the
community suffers at the hand of some rogue members of the police
department - not all, just some," Mohamud said. "They are using the search
for khat as an excuse for harassment.

"Every second day we get an unmarked car driving by and stopping Somalis
for khat searches," he said. "They are doing so because they say we are
dealing in khat or chewing it, but how can they tell from their car what we
are chewing?"

But a member of Toronto's drug squad says a trained officer may well be
able to identify khat chewing. And officers are within their rights to
conduct searches and confiscate "proceeds of crime."

"If an officer is aware of what (khat) looks like and how it is used, then
the officer would have reason to conduct searches and make an arrest if he
finds the substance," said Constable Rob Correa. "We record everything we
receive. If charges are not laid, the property is returned immediately and
if the charges are stayed the property may be held by law for a year."

But really, he says, the activities of Toronto's drug squad are focused on
"harder drugs." While Correa doesn't have exact numbers for khat arrests or
seizures, he said those numbers are relatively low when compared to those
for cocaine and marijuana.

"I would rate khat below cocaine and heroine, but above marijuana," he
said. "We focus drug busts on those harder drugs."

"Khat is a distraction from the real issue for the Somali community:
poverty, poor housing, immigration problems and unemployment," Mohamud
said. "The police are exacerbating the problem and all in the name of a
drug that is legally sold on the streets of London."

One Somali mother in Toronto believes khat is far more innocuous than
Westerners are billing it.

"My sons are young now, but when they turn 18 I will allow them to chew
khat if they want to," Mariam Ali said.

But will they?

"Among the young Somalis who have become Canadianized, khat is not being
chewed. Only about 20 per cent use it," said Abdi, who counts himself in
that group.

That worries Ali.

"I'd rather my boys chew khat than drink beer or use hard drugs," she said.
"I'd rather they keep a little of their culture."