DEA'S KHAT STING STIRS UP SOMALI "CULTURE CLASH"

SEATTLE - It is a stimulant and social elixir widely used in East
Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and it is one with more than 40
street names in this country, including khat, chat, gat, qat, African
salad, Abyssinian tea and Somali tea.

But, as federal drug guidelines put it: "There is no legitimate use
for khat in the United States."

With that stark reminder, federal agents arrested 14 members of
Seattle's Somali community recently, part of what the Drug Enforcement
Administration hailed as a "coordinated takedown" of a 44-person
trafficking ring that had smuggled about 25 tons of khat - with an
estimated street value of $10 million - from Africa into U.S. cities.

The cases may unwind as clear violations of U.S. drug laws, but among
Somali immigrants here and elsewhere, reaction has been more
complicated. Many insist that the laws are based on a misunderstanding
of the role of khat - generally pronounced "cot," and either chewed
or brewed like a tea - in their society.

"It is not a drug that makes people crazy or aggressive," said Ali
Abdirazak, 48, a Somali American school counselor, who said the
arrests were "unfortunate." Many members of the Somali community view
the stimulant as more akin to a strong cup of coffee than a dangerous
menace, Abdirazak said.

One court-appointed lawyer said he was considering a "cultural
defense" for his client, a man arrested in Seattle.

As the lawyer, Terry Kellogg, put it: "Khat is more like caffeine than
anything else. If these defendants wind up in prison, then so should
Howard Schultz," the chairman of Starbucks.

Federal authorities say the couriers, middlemen and street sellers
involved in the khat trade were all engaged in clearly illegal
activities, with proceeds laundered and at least one transaction
marked by a death threat from the dealer.

In several cases, packages of khat for "John Smith," "John Kerry" and
other obviously fictitious recipients were sent via delivery services
to the Somali men involved in the operation, according to an affidavit
in the case. One defendant, employed at the United Nations, allegedly
used diplomatic pouches to smuggle the plant into this country.

But Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy
Center in St. Paul, Minn., described the recent arrests as "a classic
cultural clash" in which, he said, some defendants told him they did
not know they were breaking the law.

"Their way of looking at it, where they are coming from, is that khat
has been around for a very, very long time," Jamal said in a telephone
interview. "So, it is shock and disbelief to hear that this is
illegal." Jamal noted that khat is not banned in England, Germany,
Holland and other European countries.

Ignorance of the law is, of course, a risky line of defense before any
jury. Federal authorities are clearly skeptical that anyone involved
in the surreptitious buying and selling of khat could have thought
they were acting legally.

"These defendants were looking to make easy money at the expense of
their fellow immigrants," said John McKay, the U.S. attorney in
Seattle. "We will not let their greed shatter the hopes and dreams of
other hard-working immigrant families who have fled the chaos of their
homeland."

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to a large Somali immigrant
population and 14 of the men arrested in the crackdown. Other suspects
were arrested in New York, Boston and Columbus, Ohio, as well as Seattle.

In announcing the arrests, John P. Gilbride, the special agent in
charge of the DEA's New York office, described khat as "highly
addictive and devastating" to the people who use it.

Federal drug guidelines say khat contains a psychoactive ingredient,
cathinone, that is chemically similar to amphetamine.

Many Somalis say khat creates only a mild buzz that is not dangerous
and, unlike alcohol, does not impair judgment or motor skills. Used in
moderation, they say, it stimulates or enhances conversation.

In some cases, they say, people use it as they do caffeine - to stay
awake.

None of the defendants in the recent crackdown has spoken publicly,
and some leaders in Seattle's Somali community were careful to say
that although use of the stimulant was acceptable in their native
country, they were not advocating that U.S. laws be flouted.

"I cannot agree that the law can be broken just because people are
free to use khat back where they came from," said Mohamed Abdi, the
president of Somali Community Services of Seattle, at one of the
group's recent Saturday lunches. "But I do know that many people feel
khat is not understood in this country at all."