Khat Power: The Latest War On Drugs

[dhegdheer]

This shit literally destroys families

 

[OmarLittle]

What's the other one that's in the bag? It's also green.

 

[Mudug-Madman]

It broke families and marriages because of the addiction the man will spend his money in buying khat instead of feeding his kids. Or spending time with them.

This is true. I won't deny this. But banning it won't solve the problem. All it will do is create a black market. Most khat is sold by poor women who have no other work or ways to make money. Making it illegal will take that money away from them and give it to criminal gangs. Instead we need a cultural shift that emphasizes responsible khat use.

Look at what happened to America during alcohol prohibition. It was exact same problem. Men would drink to much all day and abuse their families. In fact it was women's that pushed for it. What happened? Well, people still wanted alcohol, so they bought it from smugglers instead. They made tons of money off it. This lead to the creation of mafias and organized crime, which plagued the US for decades afterwards. I fear the same will happen to khat if we straight up ban it. I think instead we should raise taxes on it so that people will buy less.

 

[NoName]

I was answering her question on why Somalis chew instead of drinking tea/coffee. Look at the chart I posted, khat is the weakest drug that you can take.

The representation you posted is very questionable. One also needs to consider (1) the fact that khat is not a well-studied drug, so the effects it has on health are not well known, and (2) being less harmful than other popular drugs does not help one draw any meaningful conclusions.

 

[Canuck]

The khat trade creates lots of jobs for Somalis. They are grown by foreign farmers but the exporting and distribution is all done by Somalis.

The ones who sell it are mostly single mothers. Would you want them to not be able to afford feeding their children?

They can sell vegetables and fruits like the rest of women. honestly somali community doesn't respect the khatsellers in everywhere(they despise those who work in that field).
The poor self respected women usually sell tea/coffee, or rise some chickens and sell the eggs. Other make breads and sell at local market.