The Khat Controversy: Stimulating the Debate on Drugs

by David Anderson, Susan Beckerleg, Degol Hailu

Khat. A harmless natural stimulant or a lethal epidemic sweeping through the international drugs trade? Khat is a natural substance that, in the Middle East, is as ubiquitous as coffee is in the West. It is hugely popular in some African and Arab populations. But critics contend that it is a seriously addictive stimulant that damages the cardiovascular system. In a groundbreaking study, the authors go behind the veil of the drug, questioning its availability and its effect on its Red Sea producers. Interwoven with case studies from Djibouti to Rome, The Khat Controversy goes deeper to explore contemporary issues relating to globalization, ethnicity and culture. With its popularity escalating in London, Rome, Toronto and Copenhagen, khat is fast becoming a problem in the West. The first study of this contested drug, The Khat Controversy provides a concise introduction to the issues surrounding khat usage and suggests how policymakers should address them. The Khat Stimulating the Debate on Drugs has received an honorable mention for the African Studies Association's 2008 Melville J. Herskovits Award.

Genres: Drugs

266 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Anderson is Professor of African Politics and Fellow of St Cross College, University of Oxford. His research interests have remained focused upon eastern and central Africa, but his published work has ranged across a wide variety of topics, from histories of environmental change to current analysis of political violence. David Anderson is co-editor of the Journal of Eastern African Studies.

see also David M. Anderson

Reviews

[Johan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very readable, well written and well researched book about the psychoactive plant khat, used mainly in the Horn of Africa and on the Arabian peninsula and in countries with a big diaspora of people from these regions . It takes a broad look at the phenomenon, from how the plants are grown and harvested in Africa, how it is transported to the European market and how this affects policing, policy and the people using khat. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I do get a feeling that this book isn’t proof read well enough. There are books missing in the bibliography and sometimes the sentences are somewhat awkward. But on the whole it’s a good book on khat use and a big plus is that it does not condemn it as would be easy to do. Instead the authors criticise the strict control policies in countries like the US and Sweden for not really helping integrate for example Somalis into the community.