Khat

Description

Khat or qat (Synomnym:Catha edulis) is a flowering plant native to the East and West Hararghe zones of Ethiopia. Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which is said to cause excitement, loss of appetite, and euphoria. Among communities from the areas where the plant is native, khat chewing has a history as a social custom dating back thousands of years analogous to the use of coca leaves in South America and betel nut in Asia. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified it in 1980 as a drug of abuse that can produce psychic dependence, although the WHO does not consider khat addiction to be a serious problem. The legality of khat varies by region. In many countries, khat might not be a specifically controlled substance but may nevertheless be illegal under more general laws. It is a specifically controlled substance in some countries including Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By contrast, the production, sale, and consumption are legal in the nations where its use is traditional of those cultures, including Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Yemen. In Israel, which hosts a population of Yemenite Jews, only the consumption of the plant's leaves in its natural state is permitted. The genus name Catha is a Latinization of the Arabic name قات, which is regularly romanized as qāt. In English, the spellings qat and khat were equally common until about 2000, when the khat spelling became more common. Other romanizations include kat, quatt, qaad, qhat, ghat, and chat. The khat plant is known by a variety of names, such as qat and gat in Yemen, qaat and jaad in Somalia, and chat in Ethiopia. It is also known as jimaa in the Oromo language, mayirungi in Luganda, and as miraa in Kenya. In the African Great Lakes region, where Catha edulis is in some areas cultivated, it is known as miraa, muhulo and muirungi. It also goes by various descriptive names, such as Abyssinian Tea, Somali Tea, Miraa, Arabian Tea, Jimaa, and Kafta in its endemic regions of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In South Africa, the plant is known as Bushman's Tea. The plant is also known as Chat Tree and Flower of Paradise.