A qat above the rest

A qat above the rest

Daily Maverick
January 12, 2012

As the Dutch government moved on Tuesday to ban qat, a mild narcotic plant popular in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Yemeni activists also launched a campaign against it. Lamenting the effects of the plant on Yemeni life, activists are marking January 12th as a qat-free day in the embattled Gulf state. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Qat is a natural stimulant from the Catha Edulis plant grown in parts of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Not discernibly different from baby spinach or withered basil, fresh qat leaves are typically chewed like tobacco and produce a mild cocaine- or amphetamine-like euphoria. After filling their mouths with fresh leaves, or stalks, users then chew intermittently to release the active components of the plant. Casual users claim qat lifts their spirits and sharpens their thinking; detractors argue qat users are a menace to society, passing their days careening between hysteria and lethargy.

A joint statement from the Dutch interior affairs, security and justice and health ministries on Tuesday indicated that social problems, particularly the high level of unemployment in Somali-Dutch communities motivated the ban. "Health Minister (Edith) Schippers will soon place qat on list II of the opium law. This will make possession and trade in qat illegal," the statement said.

The opium law is the Netherlands’ principal drug legislation. The act criminalises possession, cultivation, trafficking and importing or exporting of banned substances, categorising drugs in two classes. Schedule I drugs are deemed to present an unacceptable risk to Dutch society and include heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and LSD; Schedule II drugs include “traditional hemp products” such as marijuana and hashish and now, qat.Continued