Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jun 2002
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2002 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Todd Bensman, of the Dallas Morning News

AGENTS: ILLEGAL DRUG HAS GROWING NICHE IN DALLAS

Federal drug enforcement authorities in Dallas are intercepting 
increasingly large amounts of an imported leaf from northeast Africa known 
as "khat." The chewable stimulant has found a market among some area 
cabdrivers and within growing Somali and Ethiopian immigrant communities.

Several cabdrivers say the ancient chewing habit transferred years ago to 
the Dallas area, where the drug fuels workers through long hours and 
energizes social gatherings in some tight-knit ethnic communities and 
restaurants.

The plant, pronounced "cot" or "chat," has been cultivated and consumed as 
a legal stimulant for centuries in East African nations. It is so 
interwoven into the fabric of those cultures that many immigrants to 
America have trouble believing it is illegal here. Two years ago, the 
president of Yemen began a campaign against the widespread use of khat, 
promising to cut back his all-day consumption to evenings only.

"It makes work easy, so that it's not bad to work," said Taviku 
Gebremakaot, an Ethiopian immigrant who drives a taxi at Dallas/Fort Worth 
International Airport. He said he does not use the drug while on the job.

Local demand for khat appears to be limited, and supplies inconsistent, but 
Dallas is among a half-dozen other major U.S. cities where khat seems to be 
appearing in increasing quantities as law enforcement authorities learn to 
recognize it.

The drug, most often smuggled into airports in personal luggage, has been 
found in cities such as New York, Minneapolis, Detroit and Boston. Until a 
flood of Somali immigrants began coming to the U.S. during the mid-1990s, 
airport customs authorities and police were largely unfamiliar with the 
plant. Most drug-sniffing dogs aren't trained to detect its odor, law 
enforcement officials say.

A new federal report assessing illegal drug trafficking in North Texas says 
a D/FW Airport drug task force confiscated 64,000 grams of khat from 
passengers in 2001. The leaf is also being found in commercial quantities 
at the airport. In the past two years, the U.S. Customs Service has seized 
nearly 1,200 pounds of the plant from mislabeled cargo containers at the 
airport, which is evidence of more ambitious smuggling enterprises, 
according to a report produced annually by the North Texas High Intensity 
Drug Trafficking Area task force.

Smuggling prosecution

Federal authorities in Dallas have prosecuted several people who have tried 
to bring khat into North Texas, for sale primarily to Somali, Yemeni, 
Ethiopian and Arab immigrants. One British man, Peter Asquiths, was 
sentenced in January 2001 to an eight-month prison term after U.S. Customs 
officials caught him at the airport with two suitcases stuffed with khat. 
Several smuggling investigations are ongoing, customs officials said. "We 
do prosecute them, if we catch someone smuggling a quantity of khat into 
the U.S.," Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Michael Worley said.

The leaf is legal, plentiful and cheap in western Europe and Canada. In the 
United States, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in recent years has 
moved khat into the same enforcement categories as cocaine and heroin.

Drug experts, as well as those who have used khat, say the leaf does not 
impair motor skills but rather creates a mild, amphetaminelike euphoria 
that heightens senses and self-esteem. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency 
warns that khat can be psychologically addictive and has been known to 
cause aggressive behavior and feelings of paranoia among chronic users.

Dallas-area Somalis and Ethiopians familiar with the drug say spotty 
availability and relatively high prices - about $40 for a day's supply - 
suggest that local demand may not be as strong here as in other U.S. cities 
where the drug has been known to be openly advertised in Somali grocery 
stores and restaurants.

Somali taxi cabdriver Abdul Mohamud said that while he does not use khat, 
many cabbies do because they can work 20-hour shifts by periodically 
chewing wads of the plant during their shifts.

Used at cultural events

The drug is also used at weddings and other cultural ceremonies, such as 
prayer sessions. Khat loses its natural potency after about three days 
unless it is kept moist and cold during transport. A more commonly 
available version of khat comes in dry form but is considered less potent, 
tasty and desirable.

Street drug expert R. Terry Furst, associate professor of criminal justice 
at John J. College in New York, said khat seems destined to remain a niche 
drug within small ethnic communities.

"It is not the kind of drug that appears to be abused, and there's not that 
much activity," he said.

But Supervisory Special Agent Robert Thompson of the Customs Service said 
the smuggling of khat - and associated criminal activity - would be a 
greater local problem if law enforcement had not prosecuted several cases 
in North Texas in recent years.

"People make big bucks smuggling anything in," he said. "I think there's 
big money in everything. It all depends on what you're good at, if you've 
got a niche."

[SIDEBAR]

A GUIDE TO KHAT

What it is

Khat, pronounced "cot" or "chat," is a natural stimulant from the Catha 
edulis plant found in a large flowering shrub that grows in northeast 
Africa and the Southern Arabia peninsula. Fresh khat leaves are a glossy 
brown color and contain a psychoactive ingredient chemically similar to 
amphetamine. The plant has been cultivated for centuries and is in wide use 
today primarily in Yemen, Somalia and parts of Ethiopia and the Middle 
East. The drug also is known as Abyssinian Tea, African Tea, and African Salad.

The effects

Chewing khat produces a mild cocainelike or amphetaminelike euphoria that 
is less potent than either substance. Those who ingest it report feelings 
of bliss, clarity of thought and energy, followed by a more prolonged sense 
of euphoria. Chronic users have been known to be aggressive or paranoid.

Legality

Khat is legal to possess and use in most countries, including the United 
Kingdom and Canada. In the United States, the drug was recently classified 
a Schedule I narcotic carrying penalties similar to heroin and cocaine. 
Prior to the reclassification, the drug was classified as a Schedule IV 
substance with lesser penalties similar to those for marijuana.

Availability

Khat is often transported into the U.S. from Europe, Canada and Africa 
wrapped in plastic bags or banana leaves to retain moistness required for 
continued potency. Active ingredients typically lose potency after three 
days if the plant dries too quickly. The drug has been found in the 
personal luggage of travelers and in bulk freight containers. It is sold by 
word of mouth, or in ethnic specialty shops, in cities such as Boston, Los 
Angeles, Detroit, Buffalo and New York City. Law enforcement authorities in 
Dallas have made an increasing number of large-scale seizures at D/FW 
International Airport in recent years.

SOURCES: U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency; Dallas Morning News research
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