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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 10/07/2002 5:23:41 AM PDT by Tancred
A 30-year-old man faces charges in Maine's first trial for smuggling khat, a stimulant popular in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, today in U.S. District Court in Portland.
Differing views of the substance present a cultural divide for authorities and some members of Maine's growing immigrant communities. While the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lists khat in the same category as cocaine or heroin, users say it is as mild as coffee, and just as harmless.
On trial is Abdigani Hussein, who was arrested in April when he tried to collect 60 pounds of khat, a green leafy material, at a local air freight office. Hussein is facing federal drug charges that could land him in prison for up to 20 years, although a six-month sentence is more typical, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Chapman.
But before he can be sentenced, Hussein must first be convicted, and prosecutors around the nation have not had much success winning khat cases. Because active ingredients in khat deteriorate in hours and disappear within days, it is difficult to prove that the accused was ever in possession of those chemicals. And juries have appeared reluctant in many cases to send someone to prison for using a substance that seems so benign.
Chapman would not discuss the evidence he plans to present after the jury is selected today. Hussein's attorney, Joseph Groff, also declined comment.
"With my understanding of the rules in the federal court, it would be improper to comment on this case," Groff said.
Groff has been assisted by lawyer Sid Moore of Atlanta, Ga., who has successfully defended 21 accused khat smugglers, losing only one case, which is under appeal.
Moore says khat, which is legal in most of the world, should not be a cause of concern for American drug enforcement officials, because it does not pose a serious threat to health. It is used almost exclusively in communities of Muslims, who obey their religion's ban against drinking alcohol and use khat as a substitute in social gatherings.
"It produces a mild euphoria, kind of like what you might experience smoking a good cigar," Moore said when he was interviewed last April. "If people could die from ingesting it, like cocaine, then I would have no problem banning it. But there's no danger here, and that's the problem (with the ban.)"
Not everyone agrees that khat is harmless. Studies of the drug quoted in the Journal of Addiction and Mental Health found that in Africa, chronic khat users display symptoms similar to those addicted to amphetamines. Prolonged use has been connected to psychosis and paranoia and violent behavior. Other side effects include anorexia, hypertension and depression.
That syndrome has not been observed here. This might be because of khat's perishable nature. Pulled from an evergreen-type shrub that grows in east Africa and the Arabian peninsula, khat's chemical makeup changes as soon as it is picked.
When fresh, it contains the powerful stimulant cathinone, which is a controlled substance in the same category as cocaine, heroin and LSD. Within three days, however, the cathinone has deteriorated to cathine, which is chemically similar to pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in many over-the-counter cold and diet medicines.
Hussein has been charged with possession of cathinone, but Moore has said that it is unlikely that much cathinone still existed in the khat when he was trying to pick up the package in Portland.
While khat prosecutions have been few, the amounts of the drug that have been seized at America's ports of entry have grown steadily throughout the years. In 1996, authorities confiscated 17.6 tons. That grew to 33.8 tons in 2000, and 37.2 tons last year.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Erowid has a lot of good info on khat.
Maybe part of the reason that the Somalis were moving to Maine included less prosecution of khat? Perhaps the GA cops were on to them?
Regarding khat and cathinone: Cathinone (norephedrone)is about one-seventh the strength of amphetamine. It is an unstable ketoamine base which quickly racemizes when the leaf is picked. It turns into cathine (d-norpseudoephedrine, Schedule IV) and norephedrine (this one is not scheduled). It takes about a week for khat to get to the US from Kenya, and by that time even the government concedes that the cathinone concentration is down to about 36 parts per 10,000,000. This means there is less than a gram of cathinone in 100 pounds of vegetable matter, which is not enough to harm anyone even if he chewed the entire 100 pounds by himself. The DEA keeps telling muslims in public information statements that there should be no cathinone present after three days, but when DEA catches people with even month-old khat they prosecute for cathinone (schedule one) because they can still find molecules of it with a mass spectrometer. The importation of khat containing only cathine (d-norpseudoephedrine) was deregulated by the Attorney General May 1, 2003, so long as the cathine is in its original plant matrix or otherwise is in a concentration of less than 6/10ths of one per cent. The idea that khat in the US is harmful to anyone is a DEA myth. Of 55 trials I have monitored or been involved in, only four resulted in convictions. Unfortunately, some muslims plead guilty to possession and INS deports them. That's probably why it is illegal in this country...so chewers can be deported.... lawyersid
Now here is some research that we can all relate to. I would elaborate but I am not sure I can.
Reinforcing effects of
methamphetamine in planarians
by
Kusayama T, Watanabe S
Department of Psychology,
Keio University,
Tokyo, Japan.
Neuroreport 2000 Aug 3;11(11):2511-3
ABSTRACT
Reinforcing properties of dopamine agonist, methamphetamine, for planarians were examined with the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. The planarians showed preference for the environment associated with methamphetamine administration. This reinforcing effect was antagonized by pretreatment with non-selective dopamine antagonist, haloperidol. Both selective D1 antagonist SCH23390 and selective D2 antagonist sulpiride also blocked the reinforcing effect of methamphetamine. These results suggest that reinforcing effects of dopaminergic drugs can be traced back to invertebrates such as planarians.
"khat" is not on the federal Controlled Substance Act list nor on any state list except Tennessee. What is on the list is "cathinone", otherwise known as norephedrone, a very unstable chemical which the DEA says will disappear within 72 hours after the plant is picked. Therefore users have a right to assume that the cathinone is gone from dry khat sent to them by people back home. lawyersid
In fact there has never been a successful prosecution of a khat case in the state of Georgia. The Somalis who moved to the Lewiston slums from Atlanta did so because work opportunities were better there. The mayor of Lewiston then made a public appeal that no more Somalis move there. Perhaps Maine has a little racial bias of its own.
I am John Gilmore and I approve of this message.
Personally, I feel they should all be deported, as they were brought to the USA under false pretences to begin with.
What makes you think assume all Khat comes from abroad and cannot be grown here in the US?
Lying and smuggling.
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