The empirical work from Africa provides a strong argument for promoting evidence-based approaches to khat regulation, harnessing the positive aspects of the khat economy to develop a control model that incorporates the voices and respects the needs of rural producers. Ultimately, the framework for khat may provide both a model and an opportunity for revising the international treaties governing the control of other plant psychoactive-based substances.
The use of khat has moved from traditional contexts into a new, urban and commercial environment, where custom no longer provides protection against the adverse consequences of problematic use. It should also be recognised that there is an inherent need for recreational facilities in the new urban centres along the khat frontier, where khat can play a constructive part in the evolution of a new culture of consumption. Khat outlets are an important pillar of the urban informal sector, while khat production is: “a factor of the lack of alternative livelihoods in the growing areas, and reflects the unsustainability of crops that have previously supported the rural economy. The discussion on khat, therefore, needs to place the industry within a development framework.”
International Journal of Drug Policy, Volume 20, Issue 6
November 2009