Khat - more dope stupidity

Khat consists of the leaves and young stems of Catha edulis, a shrub from the horn of Africa, where for centuries, wads of the leaves have been chewed for their stimulating effect. Rather than being elicit, khat is consumed in a socially acceptable manner like coffee is here. A news article from some weeks back from the Chi-town Trib reports that some poor mope was picked up at O'Hare with 90 pounds of khat.  The article uses the following phrases to describe the haul: "illegal African substance" and "leafy drug".  First, let's make things clear. Plants harbor a number of toxic substances, and depending upon the type of chemical and the dosage, they can be stimulants or depressants, poisonous or medically beneficial, pain-killers. Only the last category are narcotic (sleep-inducing) depressants. Khat falls into the stimulant category and is used similarly to how we use coffee and tobacco, except both caffeine and nicotine are more addictive. A local candy maker sells a dark chocolate bark, a source of theobromine (similar to caffeine), filled with ground up coffee beans in it. TPP can say with certainty it will give you a euphoric buzz, as will a really strong cup of coffee. No credible reason exists for khat being considered either dangerous or a drug, but that poor fellow will undoubtedly get a Joliet vacation for his ignorance of stupid laws. Even more amusing was the estimated worth: $12,000. Who wants to buy it so badly as all that? Who will get a promotion for this drug bust?  Khat is dirt cheap in any market in east Africa. Remember your first taste of coffee?  Khat isn't so pleasant; it's a real acquired taste. Remember way back when the USA had some military adventures going on in Somalia? Our armed forces got written warnings about "drug-crazed militias" of war lords, and it was khat they were referring to. A med-evac reservist in one of my classes showed me the communication, and then marveled at the military intelligence involved. At a certain point you wonder what and who is the dope here. What a waste of tax dollars. 

Hard habit to kick

As the Phactor sits here reading science news and getting bits and pieces together for today's classes, here's a not very surprising scientific finding, nicotine addiction is really old.  For how ever long humans have occupied Mesoamerica, there has been nicotine addiction.  Cultures really know their plant resources, until they become urbanized or even worse sub-urbanized, so almost as soon as people discovered the wonderful kick you got from chewing on the leaves or smoking the tobacco plant, it was an addiction.  How could it be any other way?  So do we expect humans to give up their stimulants any time soon?  Pass the coffee.