Khat beats coffee as cash crop

[gottaB]

Mombasa, Kenya - Deep into his stash of khat, Ibrahim Mahdi is buzzing by the time the evening call to prayer begins echoing from a nearby mosque. There will be no prayers for Mahdi this night.

He is in thrall to another tradition, one as old and, in these parts, as widespread as the Muslim faith. Mahdi chews khat, a semi-narcotic leaf that has wired generations of Muslims from the coast of eastern Africa to Yemen at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Outlawed in the United States and declared an addictive drug by the World Health Organisation, khat remains a legal and cherished pastime in Kenya.

Khat beats coffee as cash crop....

***

Also see Ethiopians uproot coffee for speedy leaf

[sniffa]

1. ooooh, another vice for me

i'LL have to pick up some of that with some sevitas(speLLing?).

[BiggJawn]

2. I thnk a Venti "extra-strong" Latte has more kick.

I've read that Khat is pretty mild for your average caffeinated beverage consumer.

[74dodgedart]

3. Its illegal to chew leaves ?

More WOD insanity

[bemildred]

4. What does "semi-narcotic" mean?

It's not narcotic, BTW, it's a caffeine-like drug.
Disgusting habit, but then so is chewing tobacco,
betel nut, etc.