U.S. BUSTS FIRST EVER `QAT' DRUG PLANTATION

SALINAS, Calif. (Reuters) - Police announced Thursday they had busted
the first undercover U.S. plantation devoted to ''qat'' -- a bush
whose leaves are a popular drug in the Horn of Africa and Arabian peninsula.

Lt. Dave Allard of the Monterey County Sheriff's Department said
narcotics officers found about 100 qat plants, some as tall as 14
feet, on a small plot in Prunedale, about 75 miles south of San Francisco.

``State and federal authorities believe this is the first outdoor
cultivation of qat in the United States,'' Allard said.

Raw qat leaves, which are chewed or brewed as a kind of tea, contain a
natural amphetamine called cathinone -- which is federally listed as a
restricted drug in a similar category as heroin and cocaine.

Police have identified one suspect, but had so far made no arrests,
Allard said. ``Investigators continue to follow up leads in this
case,'' he said.

One item which stumped police was the possible street value of the
qat, which is almost unknown in the United States.

In Yemen, however, where qat is extremely popular, anti-qat
campaigners say the mild drug accounts for about 33 percent of
agricultural production and represents 9.3 percent of gross national
product. Yemeni families spend more than 63 percent of their income on
qat, official government figures show.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry