SOMALIS TRY TO ERADICATE 'BAD HABIT' FROM AFRICA

Tradition Of Chewing Leaf Has Local Community Concerned; Tougher Law May Emerge

For generations of eastern Africans, chewing the leaf of an
indigenous plant was considered much like drinking a couple of cups of coffee.

When they immigrated to Columbus, some brought with them a taste for
the stimulant that the plant provided. The only problem is that the
plant, known as khat, is illegal in the U.S.

Police seizure of the plant has increased nationwide, and Somali
leaders in central Ohio are now spreading the word to avoid khat.
There's a sense of urgency, because an Ohio legislator wants to make
it easier to prosecute those who possess or use the plant.

Last year, Columbus police seized 78 pounds of khat. As of this
October, they had seized 3,000 pounds, said Sgt. Ben Casuccio, of the
narcotics bureau.

Khat, like alcohol, is shunned by Muslims and frowned upon by the
mainstream Somali community.

"We see a dozen or so cases every six months, men who are coming and
asking for rehabilitation, religious guidance, men who are coming and
asking for help to put an end to this very bad practice," Columbus
Islamic leader Mohamed Dini said.

They complain about being in disputes with their wives and needing
money, Dini said. "Many do indeed repent. ... Some try for two or
three months and then go back to that bad habit."

The Somali Community Association of Ohio will use fliers and ethnic
newspapers, and work with authorities and religious groups, to inform
immigrants, said Hassan Omar, president of the Somali Community
Association of Ohio.

"We don't want to look like a drug-dealing community," Omar said.
"It's not good for the community. It's not good for the family. We
realize that.

"People have been practicing it for centuries, and they don't
consider it as a drug. So we need to give people time to know it is
illegal in the country."

For that reason, state Sen. Steve Stivers, a Columbus Republican,
said he will postpone until April introduction of a bill that would
make it easier for authorities to arrest people who possess khat. The
small green leaves and red stems of the shrub are mostly chewed but
can be brewed into something akin to tea.

Grown in eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the drug causes
euphoria in users for up to three hours, according to the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration. It increases the heart rate and blood
pressure. Longterm use can cause hallucinations, paranoia and depression.

Khat is illegal because it contains cathine and cathinone, both
controlled substances.

Law-enforcement agencies test the levels of cathine and cathinone in
khat they seize. The potency of the plant begins to drop as soon as
it is harvested, meaning possible charges could quickly go from a
felony to a misdemeanor, said Michael Weinman, legislative liaison
for the Columbus Division of Police.

The bill would put the name khat on the books for the first time and
require law officers to measure only the weight of the plant and not
the potency of the drug, he said.

The presence of khat in central Ohio has grown along with the influx
of eastern African immigrants since the 1991 civil war in Somalia.
Estimated at 45,000, the Columbus Somali population is second-largest
in the U.S. behind the 60,000 in Minneapolis.

During a nationwide crackdown in July, six people were arrested in
Columbus. Authorities seized 5 tons of khat nationwide worth an
estimated $2 million. Two years ago, the DEA seized 47 tons of khat.

Khat is shipped from eastern Africa and southern Arabia to Columbus
mostly through the Netherlands, Italy and England. Some dealers drive
from New York City to Columbus.

A Somali man, Mahad H. Samatar, now 44, was sentenced to 10 years in
prison in 2001 for transporting the plant to Columbus from Atlanta.

The plant is rolled in moistened paper and banana leaves and wrapped
with twine to help maintain its potency. A fresh bundle of about 2
pounds will sell for about $45, a dried-out bundle for $15 to $20. It
is sold in some stores operated by Somalis and by street dealers.

Authorities seized a box of 70 to 110 bundles of khat from the
Netherlands last month that was bound for Hilliard.

In Minneapolis, khat has been associated with robberies and violence,
said Gregory Reinhardt, spokesman for the Minneapolis Police
Department. "We have had murders that are related to khat. We have
had an officer-involved shooting with a suspect who was high on khat."

Stivers saw khat's impact on communities while deployed with the Ohio
National Guard in Djibouti, north of Somalia, for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"I saw an economy that was not very functional," Stivers said. "It
really seemed to have a devastating effect on people who are addicted to it."

In the past two or three years, about four people have sought
treatment at Maryhaven for khat abuse, said Paul H. Coleman,
president and chief executive officer of the drug-treatment center.

Somali leaders hope the drug loses popularity in the community, Dini said.

"It was something our fathers and grandfathers used," said Dini, who
was born in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. "But it wasn't something
that was praiseworthy."

This month, khat use was banned in Somalia.