Khat Isn't Very Harmful, But It's Still Damaging Yemen

by Mike Smith · 2009-09-16 12:45:00 UTC
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Yemen is running out of water, and paying handsomely for the privilege. Time are reporting on Yemen's widespread use of khat, a shrub whose leaves give an amphetamine like high. 90% of men and 25% of women use the drug — the "alcohol for Muslims." It's an expensive $5 a day habit considering that 45% live below the poverty line, making it a valueable crop to grow. It's drying up the country's agriculture too, leading to drought and threatening population displacement in the fragile county just across the Gulf from Somalia. Illegal in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the drug is unlikely to be given up anytime soon but the consequences of the drug's widespread usage may cause a much more harmful impact than the drug's direct effects; Khat (or Qat) can produce a mild to moderate psychological dependence, and has been linked to liver damage and some withdrawal symptoms

[Photo credit: Ferdinand Reus]

Mike Smith
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