Teen Drug Abuse

News from the war against teen drug abuse is something that parents should keep abreast of. Parents need to be aware of all the variations of drugs teens can gain access to. Yesterday we noted the report of cheese heroin in Texas. Today we’ll mention the drug known as ‘khat’ or ‘qat’. This drug started surfacing a few years ago and has the potential to do a great deal of damage if it becomes popular on “the street”. One of the problems in countering this amphetamine-like drug is that it’s main users are refugees from Somalia and South Africa. My guess is political correctness is retarding any serious effort to undermine it’s influx into this country since the refugees use the drug regularly in their homelands and it is not classified as an illegal substance in Europe.

Contd..

“Law enforcement efforts directed against Khat in the US have been minimal thus far. […] Discreet inquiries by field staff of African/Arab sellers of Khat indicate they are not selling it as a “drug” and therefore do not seek outsiders who would bring additional attention to them…. However, a member of the Street Studies Unit was told by an Arab Teenager, standing in close proximity to an Arab restaurant, that he was waiting to buy a bundle of Khat for $28 when the shipment arrived “after five.”… From the standpoint of their cultural norms, the African/Arab sellers and users observed by the OASAS Street Studies Unit do not consider Khat to be illegal and often openly advertise its availability on signs in restaurants and grocery stores much as they would any other food product.” (source) Parents need also to be aware that, with a quick search on Google, websites selling khat can easily be found by the teenager intent on having some. By Ann Walker