Narcotics Officers Make Khat Collar.........

[nevadamedic]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville Metro narcotics officers have made the largest bust of a drug they rarely see on the streets.

Police arrested Mustafa Tura, 25, on charges of possession of khat. Police said Tura had more than 150 pounds of it in a storage facility on New Cut Road.

Khat is a leaf containing a stimulant chemical with effects on humans similar to cocaine or amphetamines.


But Metro police said the chemical loses potency over time and that’s why some attorneys across the country are challenging federal cases claiming khat isn’t an illicit drug.

“Back in the late ‘70s we heard an argument for the use of cocaine,” DEA agent Tony King said. “It was strictly a recreational drug, a stimulant drug. It didn’t hurt anybody.”

Police sent the confiscated khat to have its potency tested. Depending on the results, Tura could be charged in federal court, or have his case downgraded all the way to a misdemeanor.

http://www.wlky.com/news/13344595/detail.html?subid=22100483&qs=1;bp=t

Have any of you ever heard of this drug? I haven't and it is all brand new to me.

[5stringJeff]

I read about it in Esquire a few months ago. Apparently the entire nation of Dijoubuti is hooked on the stuff. It gives a good high, like really good weed, apparently, but you have to chew on these leaves for hours, so it rots your teeth (like meth) and leaves you not wanting to work (like weed). And the leaves do lose potency after just a few hours.

[nevadamedic]

I read about it in Esquire a few months ago. Apparently the entire nation of Dijoubuti is hooked on the stuff. It gives a good high, like really good weed, apparently, but you have to chew on these leaves for hours, so it rots your teeth (like meth) and leaves you not wanting to work (like weed). And the leaves do lose potency after just a few hours.

So it's like chewing on the leaves of a cocoa plant?

[5stringJeff]

So it's like chewing on the leaves of a cocoa plant?

Somewhat...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat

[nevadamedic]

Somewhat...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat

But if it's more like marijuana then it's not dangerous like the hard core drugs, is it?

[5stringJeff]

But if it's more like marijuana then it's not dangerous like the hard core drugs, is it?

IIRC, it is addictive, unlike MJ.

[nevadamedic]

IIRC, it is addictive, unlike MJ.

MJ is addictive too. When I say dangerous im thinking like lethal like Crack, Herion, X and or Cocaine.

[5stringJeff]

Not sure if you can OD on khat.