Bristol's Research Into Effect Of Legal Drug
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The plant is widely used among the Somali community and others from East Africa and there have been calls from community leaders in the city to make it a banned substance.
Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy has asked the Home Office what it intends to do about the use of the drug in Britain, as it is banned in a number of European countries and America.
Khat is a mild amphetamine which is chewed for long periods, predominately by men, and has been linked to a number of social and health problems among users.
Kayse Maxamed, editor of the 'Somali Voice', has led the calls for the ban because he believes users of the drug become dependent and do not attempt to integrate into the community.
Home Office minister Paul Goggins has now replied to Miss McCarthy's enquiry and said that a comprehensive study on the use of khat could be completed by the end of the year.
He said: 'The Home Office has commissioned two pieces of research on khat. The first was carried out by the firm Turning Point in 2004 and concentrates on service provision to meet the treatment needs of khat users.
'The second piece of research, carried by a firm called NARCO, is a 13-month project to examine the level and pattern of khat use by Somalis in four cities.
'The research included structured interviews with 602 Somali men and women living in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Sheffield. There are also interviews and focus groups with a much smaller number of people originating from other countries where khat is produced and/or used such as Ethiopia, Kenya and the Yemen'.
Mr. Goggins said that while khat itself is legal in Britain, the two main ingredients - cathine and cathinone - are Class C controlled substances, the same level as cannabis. He said: 'In addition to investigating the level and pattern of khat use, the researchers also asked about the perceived health effects of khat use and whether there was any association between khat use and alcohol use, illicit drug use or offending.
'The research also examines attitudes towards khat within the interview sample, including their attitudes towards legal restrictions or prohibition in the UK'.
Mr. Goggins said the project has just been completed and that a report based on the interviews, carried out in the four cities, is expected to be published soon. He added that in addition to the survey, a working group has been set up by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which is to start its own comprehensive study on khat. Ministers are expecting to be advised of its findings by the end of 2005.
Source: Simon Peevers, 'Bristol Evening Post'