What is Khat and what are the street names for Khat?
Street terms for Khat: (pronounced Cot) Abyssinian tea, African salad, oat,
kat, chat, and catha. Also referred to as qat in Yemen, tschat in Ethiopia, and
miraa in Kenya.
What does Khat look like?
Khat is a flowering evergreen shrub native to East Africa and the
Arabian Peninsula.
Khat that is sold and abused is usually
just the leaves, twigs, and shoots of the Khat shrub.
The use of Khat is an established cultural tradition
for many social situations in the areas of primary cultivation: East Africa and
the Arabian Peninsula.
Several million people may currently be using Khat
worldwide.
The largest concentrations of users are in the regions surrounding
the Middle East.
How does Khat get to the United States?
Khat, while illegal in the United
States, is legal in much of Europe, East Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Individuals of East African and Middle Eastern descent are mot often responsible
for the importation, distribution, possession, and use of Khat in the United
States.
Khat is usually shipped already packaged in bundles, and wrapped in plastic bags
or banana leaves to retain moisture and freshness.
Khat is
generally smuggled in passenger luggage, overnight express mail, or shipped as
air cargo and falsely labeled as "vegetables."
How much does Khat cost?
Exactly prices are not known, but Khat is a
relatively costly drug.
SOURCE: United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Khat.
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instability of the heart.
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