cannabisnews.com: African Drug Poses Problems for Authorities!





African Drug Poses Problems for Authorities!
Posted by FoM on July 19, 1999 at 22:04:08 PT
Khat low priority, but potency is contentious
Source: Pioneer Planet
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.''Amy Mayron can be reached at amayron pioneerpress.comor at (612) 338-6872.Facts about khatKhat (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. Pubdate: July 19, 1999© 1999 PioneerPlanet / St. Paul (Minnesota) Pioneer Press - All Rights Reserved 
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Comment #1 posted by TheSiliconMagician` on July 20, 1999 at 04:34:46 PT
I seen a story about this stuff on TV
During the US 'peacekeeping' mission over there there were reports about on CNN about it and all. The stuff gets chewed and makes your mouth foam green like some kind of sick rabies.. wierd..TSM
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