It is estimated that 90% of Somaliland’s adult male population – and about 20% of women – chew khat for mirqaan, the Somali word for the buzz it can give. In 2014, khat sales generated 20 per cent of the government’s $152m budget, according to the Somaliland Ministry of Finance. It is the biggest employer in Hargeisa, the capital, generating between 8,000 and 10,000 jobs. In a country where about 75 per cent of the workforce is jobless, khat is a pillar of the economy.