Catha Edulis - Usage Trends

Usage Trends

For centuries, khat use was long confined to its native growing regions. This occurred because the leaves needed to reach their destination within forty-eight hours of harvesting to retain their

President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen (center) has asked citizens to follow his lead and only chew khat on weekends. Yemen reportedly has the largest population of khat chewers worldwide. AP/Wide World Photos.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen (center) has asked citizens to follow his lead and only chew khat on weekends. Yemen reportedly has the largest population of khat chewers worldwide. AP/Wide World Photos.

strength. However, with improved roads and air transportation, khat use spread to many other parts of the globe.

Since the 1980s, the drug has been reported in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and various countries in Western Europe. In 2002, khat was found in packages destined for U.S. cities such as Minneapolis-St.Paul, Minnesota; New York City; Kansas City, Kansas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Detroit, Michigan. Sometimes khat is smuggled into the United States by passengers on commercial jets or across the U.S.–Canadian border by car or truck.

High Use among Immigrant Populations

In the United States and the United Kingdom, khat use is most popular among immigrants from Yemen and the East African nations of Somalia and Ethiopia. In a 2004 issue of the U.K. newspaper the Guardian, one correspondent wrote: "In Ethiopia, Yemen, and Kenya, the plant is cultivated and several tons a week are bundled up for export; the majority ends up in Britain for use by the Somali community. Around 90 percent of Somali men in Britain are thought to chew the plant." Somalia's long history of war, political turmoil, and social unrest led many of its people to leave their homeland. Many took up residence in the United Kingdom. They report that using khat helps them deal with the chaos in their lives.

The U.S. public became more aware of khat in the 1990s, when media reports on the United Nations' mission in Somalia were broadcast regularly. According to the "Intelligence Bulletin" of the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), abuse levels in the United States "are highest in cities with sizable populations" of immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen. These cities "includ[e] Boston, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, and Washington, D.C."

Khat can be purchased in the United States in various ethnic bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and smoke shops. Fresh khat leaves are most often prepared for shipment in bouquet-sized bundles, wrapped in plastic bags or banana leaves, then tied together. The bundles are sprayed with water to keep the leaves fresh and moist. Refrigeration helps to preserve them.