Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jul 2013
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Newspapers Ltd
Contact:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/108

DEFIANT MAY BANS DRUG IN TERROR LINK

THERESA May overruled her own drug advisers yesterday to ban a herbal 
stimulant linked with Islamist extremism.

The Home Secretary said that if she failed to act Britain could 
become a transit route for illegally shipping khat to mainland Europe.

The amphetamine-like substance is already banned in most European 
countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Ireland.

Security experts have warned that proceeds from selling the drug 
could be funding Islamist extremist groups such as al-Shabab.

Mrs May said that khat, which is popular among Somalis in the UK, 
would become a Class C drug like anabolic steroids.

The move will be controversial because it goes against the advice of 
the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, which in January said 
there was 'insufficient evidence' that khat caused health problems.

The panel also found 'no evidence' that khat, made from leaves and 
shoots of a shrub cultivated in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian 
Peninsula, was directly linked with serious or organised crime.

But, in a statement to MPs, Mrs May said the risks posed could have 
been underestimated.

About 2,560 tons of khat was imported in 2011-12 with a value of 
UKP13.8million. It is usually chewed in family homes, at community 
parties or at legal khat cafes for up to six hours at a time.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom