AFRICAN DRUG POSES PROBLEMS FOR AUTHORITIES

Khat Low Priority, But Potency Is Contentious

An illegal drug brought to the United States by recent Somali immigrants
has created controversy in Hennepin County courtrooms, as prosecutors and
chemical experts argue over the drug's potency.

The drug, ``khat,'' has become a recent concern for police, crime labs and
prosecutors as the number of Somali immigrants continues to grow. Prevalent
mostly in East Africa, the drug began to appear in the Twin Cities within
the past three years as the Somali population in Minnesota has grown to
about 6,000. The drug is low on the priority list for police and
prosecutors, and Hennepin County sees only a handful of cases a year. But
khat is shunned by Somali community leaders, and authorities say they can't
ignore the cases as they come up.

Two cases involving people charged with fifth-degree possession of a
controlled substance were dismissed in March after a Harvard associate
professor testified that the normal testing procedures for the drug were
incomplete. But a court hearing next month may settle the confusion over
the drug's potency.

``We're going to present evidence we have that shows the court had
incorrect information,'' said assistant county attorney Tom Arneson. ``We
argued in March that it's a straight-forward test.''

The East African drug is a stimulant and similar to chewing tobacco. When
fresh leaves are chewed, the drug seeps into the digestive system through
saliva and causes a euphoric feeling.

Until recently, khat was considered a very low threat and classified on the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration's list of least serious narcotics.
But since the discovery of the presence of cathinone, an active ingredient
also found in amphetamines, it has been upgraded to the most serious list,
which includes heroin.

Khat comes from a flowering evergreen tree or large shrub that grows in
East Africa and Southern Arabia. People have chewed its leaves since
ancient times, but it became popular in Somalia in the 1950s and 1960s.
Recent Somali governments have banned khat farming, but the plant continues
to be imported regularly from neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.

Khat is usually smuggled into the United States and then distributed into
major cities.

Abdulkadir S. Osman, who lives in Northeast Minneapolis, began chewing khat
years ago, when he migrated from Somalia to Kenya. It was readily available
there. But it made him tired during the day and he couldn't sleep at night.
He said he felt guilty using the little money he earned for khat when he
had children who had to be fed.

He soon stopped, realizing khat's negative effects.

"It's not something cultural; it's not religious,'' Osman said. "It's just
a drug.''

Most Somalis don't tolerate its use, he said. But a growing number of
younger people are trying it and becoming addicted.

Osman, who produces a Somali public access television show in Minneapolis,
made a video of the dangers of using khat. It has aired on public access TV
and was distributed to various Somali organizations throughout the Twin
Cities.

Police say they do not actively pursue khat cases. The drug falls very low
on investigators' priority lists because it is less prevalent than heroine,
methamphetamine or cocaine.

In Ramsey County, in fact, Peter Lindstrom, assistant to the county
attorney, said he couldn't recall any khat cases.

Police usually stumble on khat while investigating something else, said
Hennepin County attorney Amy Klobuchar.

Her office prosecutes about a dozen khat cases a year, usually fifth-degree
possession charges (the lowest felony) that result in probation for the
defendants. Defendants typically opt for a diversion program of drug
treatment and prevention education for a reduced sentence.

The testing issue, however, could change the way the cases are processed if
prosecutors can't prove that the testing methods are valid.

Khat is tested for an ingredient called cathinone, which functions as the
stimulant. Chemists at crime labs test only for the presence of cathinone
to prove that the plant is dangerous. They do not test for quantities or
break down the cathinone into components.

Scott Lukas, associate professor of psychiatry in Harvard Medical School's
department of pharmacology, testified in February that cathinone contains
two isomers, a positive and a negative. The negative isomer is the active
ingredient, causing the euphoric effect. Only fresh plants contain the
negative isomer. Stale plants with only the positive isomer are not
considered as potent or dangerous, thus leading Hennepin County Judge
Robert Lynn to dismiss the two cases in March.

If prosecutors can't prove that testing for the presence of cathinone alone
is adequate, the city and state labs may have to buy more costly and
laborious testing methods for future cases.

"It's not necessary to test for isomers,'' said city of Minneapolis chemist
Bruce Person. ``It's never been an issue before. I'm going to just wait and
see what happens.''

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FACTS ABOUT KHAT

Khat (pronounced ``cot'') is a large shrub that can grow to tree size. It
originated in Ethiopia and spread throughout East Africa. It contains
ephedrine-like compounds and when chewed, acts as a stimulant to produce a
euphoric feeling.

Khat leaves must be chewed fresh for their potency. They are usually
smuggled frozen into the United States and then distributed to cities where
there are large East African immigrant populations.

Because it contains a substance found in amphetamines, khat has been
classified among the Drug Enforcement Administration's most serious
narcotics.