Khat and the Informal Globalization of a Psychoactive Commodity

Over the past decade khat has become a globally available commodity, popular among

Eastern African diaspora communities in Europe and North America. At the same time

production and consumption are spreading into countries across Africa where it was

hitherto unknown. There have been profound implications for rural producers who have

benefited from the cash crop, public health and social control. Khat, is the only ‘new’

psychoactive drug that is globally traded and not controlled by international conventions.

National bans have engendered trading networks that move from the licit to the criminal.

The long term status of khat as either a vegetable (UK) or a class 1 narcotic (US) has

serious implications for farming families and national economies in Eastern Africa, but

also offers the opportunity for the emergence of a global trading commodity controlled

entirely by African interests.