KHAT -- IS IT MORE COFFEE OR COCAINE?

The Narcotic Leaf Is a Time-Honored Tradition in Africa but Illegal
In the U.S., Where Demand Is Growing.

In the heart of the Ethiopian community here, a group of friends
gathered after work in an office to chew on dried khat leaves before
going home to their wives and children. Sweet tea and sodas stood on
a circular wooden table between green mounds of the plant, a mild
narcotic grown in the Horn of Africa.

As the sky grew darker the conversation became increasingly heated,
flipping from religion to jobs to local politics. Suddenly, one of
the men paused and turned in his chair. "See, it is the green leaf,"
he said, explaining the unusually animated discussion as he pinched a
few more leaves together and tossed them into his mouth.

For centuries the "flower of paradise" has been used legally in East
Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as a stimulant and social tonic.

But in the United States khat is illegal, and an increased demand for
the plant in cities such as Washington and San Diego is leading to
stepped up law enforcement efforts and escalating clashes between
narcotics officers and immigrants who defend their use of khat as a
time-honored tradition.

In the last few years, San Diego, which has a large Somali
population, has seen an almost eight-fold increase in khat seizures.
Nationally, the amount of khat seized annually at the country's ports
of entry has grown from 14 metric tons to 55 in about the last decade.

Most recently, California joined 27 other states and the federal
government in banning the most potent substance in khat, and the
District of Columbia is proposing to do the same.

"It is a very touchy subject. Some people see it like a drug; some
people see it like coffee," said Abdulaziz Kamus, president of the
African Resource Center in Washington, D.C. "You have to understand
our background and understand the significance of it in our community."

Increased immigration from countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen and
Somalia has fueled the demand in this country and led to a cultural conflict.

"We grew up this way, you can't just cut it off," said a 35-year-old
Ethiopian medical technician between mouthfuls of khat as he sat with
his friends in the office.

In the Horn of Africa and parts of the Middle East, khat is a regular
part of life, often consumed at social gatherings or in the morning
before work and by students studying for exams. Users chew the plant
like tobacco or brew it as a tea. It produces feelings of euphoria
and alertness that can verge on mania and hyperactivity depending on
the variety and freshness of the plant.

But some experts are not convinced that its health and social effects
are so benign. A World Health Organization report found that
consumption can lead to increased blood pressure, insomnia, anorexia,
constipation and general malaise. The report also said that khat can
be addictive and lead to psychological and social problems.

"It is not coffee. It is definitely not like coffee," said Garrison
Courtney, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. "It is
the same drug used by young kids who go out and shoot people in
Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan. It is something that gives you a
heightened sense of invincibility, and when you look at those
effects, you could take out the word 'khat' and put in 'heroin' or 'cocaine'."

Khat comes from the leaves and stems of a shrub and must be shipped
in overnight containers to preserve its potency. It contains the
alkaloid cathinone, similar in chemical structure to amphetamine but
about half as potent, according to Nasir Warfa, a researcher in cross
cultural studies at Queen Mary University of London.

The United Kingdom determined last year that evidence does not
warrant restriction of khat. In the United States, the substance has
been illegal under federal law since 1993.

But the world supply of khat is exploding. Countries such as Ethiopia
and Kenya now rely on it as a major cash crop to bolster their
economies. Khat is Ethiopia's second largest export behind coffee.

Khat usage has grown so much in San Diego that Assemblyman Joel
Anderson (R-San Diego) wrote a 2008 bill that added cathinone and its
derivative cathine to California's list of Schedule II drugs along
with raw opium, morphine and coca leaves.

As of Thursday, Anderson's bill made possession of khat a misdemeanor
in California, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a
$1,000 fine. Possession of the leaf with intent to sell is a felony
that carries a three-year maximum sentence in state prison.

In some cases, khat seizures have resulted in warnings and probation.
In other instances, like New York City's "Operation Somali Express"
bust in 2006, which led to the seizure of 25 tons of khat worth an
estimated $10 million, the perpetrators were sent to jail for up to 10 years.

"In my mind, [such arrests are] wrong," said an Ethiopian-born
cabdriver who was arrested in November in a Washington, D.C., khat
bust and spoke on condition of anonymity. "They act like they know
more about khat than I know."

Khat leaves are sold attached to thick stalks or dried like tea
leaves. A bundle of 40 leafed twigs costs about $28 to $50.

The plant's cost has been linked to family problems, including
domestic abuse, said Starlin Mohamud, a Somali immigrant who is
completing a dissertation on khat at San Diego State University.

In fact, within the East African community in the U.S., there are
many who welcome the khat restrictions.

"I have seen what it does," Mohamud said. "Families who are trying to
make ends meet on a daily basis cannot afford it. It just creates so
many problems between a husband and wife to the point where a broken
family is going to be the result."

Not all lawmakers, however, support the increased efforts to
prosecute khat sellers and users. California state Sen. Gloria
Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) called khat use "a minor problem that may be
nonexistent and little understood" and voted against Anderson's bill.

"The Legislature cannot continue to add on penalties and punishments
filling up critically overcrowded prison system without weighing the
consequences on how this will affect California," she said.

Even though khat smuggling continues to grow in the United States,
the level is nowhere near that of drugs like marijuana, cocaine,
heroine and methamphetamine. Still, law enforcement officials worry
that in a refined, stronger and more portable form, khat could spread
outside the immigrant communities.

In Israel, a pill known as hagigat (essentially Hebrew for "party
khat"), has emerged on the club scene.

"I don't think we are going to see American teenagers chewing the
plant," said Phil Garn, a U.S. postal inspector in San Diego. "But
based on what I saw with meth and how it spread across the country, I
can absolutely see how khat in a refined form could be a major problem."