Illegal drug khat popular with some African immigrants but apparently not their kids

Most Canadians probably haven't heard of khat, an ancient African stimulant that's illegal in this country.

It's not as if there are street-corner khat dealers with half-whispered offers to sell bundles of the amphetamine-containing plant.

But a rise in the number of immigrants from the Horn of Africa has led to increases border seizures of khat in recent years as smugglers try to meet the demand.

Postmedia News reports that hundreds of kilograms of khat are being seized annually by Canada Border Services Agency officers, compared with none 15 years ago.

"We seize khat probably two to three times per day, on average,'' Jerry Jesso, chief of intelligence for the Canadian Border Services Agency, told Postmedia reporter Jeff Davis.

Khat has been used in parts of Africa for thousands of years and remains popular here with immigrants from countries such as Somalia, Yemen, Ethiopia and Kenya.

It comes mainly in two forms, leaves and twigs, the bark of which is stripped off and chewed. It's bitter-tasting and is often mixed with peanuts to make it more palatable, or used with chewing gum, Postmedia reports.

The plant's active ingredients are naturally occurring amphetamines, providing users with a sense of euphoria and alertness. The World Health Organization says khat has no medical use and classes it as a highly-addictive "drug of abuse."

The RCMP's web site notes khat is not illegal in many countries, including the Netherlands and Britain, which is the main source of the drug being smuggled into Canada. Here it's designated a Schedule 4 controlled substance, the lowest category of illegal drug, compared with cocaine and heroin that are Schedule 1.

Kenya is a major producer of khat, sending a steady stream of the plant to Britain by plane for users there and for export, said Jesso.

"They'll ship it there, then break down shipment before reshipping it on to Canada," he said.

Unlike marijuana, cocaine or heroin, khat has a very short shelf life, losing its potency within days of harvesting.

"They'll cut it, wrap it in banana leaf and wet it to try to keep it cool and maintain its freshness,'' said Jesso. "But within 72 hours that stuff gets real nasty, as it breaks down and starts to rot.''

Once it gets here, a daily does for a heavy user can go cost up to $80.

The CBSA said it's seized $55 million worth of khat in the last five years. The most recent seizure was made last month when a sniffer dog found 60 kilograms of khat in some luggage at Calgary International Airport.

Farah Aw-Osman, executive director of the Canadian Friends of Somalia, said khat use appears limited mostly to older members of his community.

"It's only the people who were addicted to khat from previous use in Somalia (who) are using it,'' he told Postmedia News. "The younger generation doesn't even know what khat is."

The problem is more serious in the United Kingdom, where Aw-Osman said it's harmed the social and economic interests of Somalis due to the lethargy it induces in most addicts.

Efforts underway in Britain to ban khat are being praised by Somali leaders there.