Drug
advisers to review khat policy
(UKPA) – The use of the stimulant khat is to be reviewed by the
Government's drugs advisers, the Home Office said.
The Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will conduct a
"comprehensive study" into khat, which is mainly chewed by Somali,
Yemeni and Ethiopian communities in the UK in a bid to promote
alertness and relaxation.
Measures could include regulation of the import, distribution and
sale of the drug, which is legal in the UK but banned in the US and
parts of Europe, or even an outright ban.
While occasional use was widely seen as socially acceptable in the
UK, both frequent and heavy use were perceived to have "negative
consequences" and there was "widespread support for some level of
Government intervention", Home Office research found.
"Such 'problematic' use is generally regarded as needing to be
addressed through prevention, treatment and wider types of social
support," the research found.
But there were "very few reports of associations between khat and
crime or anti-social behaviour", despite there being "some
controversy over even moderate levels of khat use, with some
community members being totally opposed to the practice", the report
said.
"There is widespread support from within the communities and from
professionals for broad types of intervention in the issue of khat."
The researchers also called for better and more widely-distributed
information on the drug.
Drugs Minister James Brokenshire asked the ACMD to carry out the
study following the report, the Home Office said.
Source: The Press
Association
|