Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2000, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Forum: http://forums.theglobeandmail.com/ Author: Colin Freeze, Toronto Police Reporter KHAT SEIZURES NOT WARRANTED, SOMALI COMMUNITY SAYS Canada Customs heralded its latest seizure of the drug khat at Pearson International Airport yesterday, even as local Somalis complained of overzealous policing of the stimulant. A few kilograms of heroin or cocaine are a significant seizure at Pearson. Khat travels in much greater bulk. About seven kilograms of cocaine have been seized since mid-May, compared with a whopping 700 kilograms of khat taken during the same period, most of it stuffed in suitcases and cardboard boxes. Less powerful and cheaper than other illicit drugs more familiar to Canadians, khat is popular among members of Toronto's growing Somali community, who tend to view it as more socially acceptable than alcohol. Yesterday, men who often gather at a strip mall near Lawrence Avenue and Weston Road said the problem is not with khat,but with the police reaction to it. "I don't consider myself a drug user. I abhor drugs," said Kawnayn Hussein, who says he often takes khat in social settings. "We don't consider it something like drugs. . . . It's a traditional thing, like having coffee or a dinner." The 30-year-old man, who has been in Canada for close to a decade, said that people used to be able to chew khat leaves with impunity in Canada. But that changed in 1997, when the stimulant was placed in the Controlled Drug and Substance Act. Members of the Somali community say police enforcement has become more stringent in recent months. "We have no relationship with police at all," said Mr. Hussein, who added that the broader Somali community feels "harassed" when officers search for khat in homes and in the offices, prayer rooms and restaurants of the strip mall. Officers have also visited the strip mall's "club," where people watch television, play pool or cards and talk, often over khat. Last month, several people at the strip mall were pepper-sprayed in a confrontation outside a restaurant, and two possession charges were laid. Not all in the community approve of the use of khat. "The khat costs some money, so it's not good for the family," said Mahad Ali, a 35-year-old editor of a community newspaper. But he added the law-enforcment issue is separate from the drug issue. "I'm against the behaviour of the Toronto police and how they behave with this issue," he said, adding that there's a general sense that the Somali community is being targeted. The pungent plant smells something like old grass clippings. Users chew the leaves of the catha edulis plant. They do not swallow the substance. Khat is grown in East Africa and is widely popular both in Somalia and Yemen. It is generally flown first to Britain, where it remains legal, before travelling on to Canada. Along the way, the price of a kilogram changes from $1, to $4, to $60, users say. At Pearson, the plant is most often found on Thursdays and Fridays, arriving just in time to satiate demand on the weekend. A 1986 study by the World Health Organization found that although severe medical problems are rare, khat was a "counter-productive and potentially addictive" substance. Yesterday, a city cab driver, who refused to give his name, said he uses khat because beer gave him an ulcer and he tried marijuana a couple of times, but found that he could not keep up conversations. But he appreciates the clear-headed happy jolt that he says khat gives him. "I feel I'm a better driver when I chew," he said. "I won't feel the stress, I won't feel the back pain." The stimulant combines with heady optimism when he chews in group settings, he said. "You talk about the future. You try to invent things. . . . But when you come down, you really come down." - --- MAP posted-by: greg