Monday, October 7, 2002

By GREGORY D. KESICH, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

A 30-year-old man faces charges in Maine's first trial for smuggling khat, a stimulant popular in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, today in U.S. District Court in Portland.

Differing views of the substance present a cultural divide for authorities and some members of Maine's growing immigrant communities. While the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lists khat in the same category as cocaine or heroin, users say it is as mild as coffee, and just as harmless.

On trial is Abdigani Hussein, who was arrested in April when he tried to collect 60 pounds of kaht, a green leafy material, at a local air freight office. Hussein is facing federal drug charges that could land him in prison for up to 20 years, although a six-month sentence is more typical, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Chapman.

But before he can be sentenced, Hussein must first be convicted, and prosecutors around the nation have not had much success winning khat cases. Because active ingredients in khat deteriorate in hours and disappear within days, it is difficult to prove that the accused was ever in possession of those chemicals. And juries have appeared reluctant in many cases to send someone to prison for using a substance that seems so benign.

Chapman would not discuss the evidence he plans to present after the jury is selected today. Hussein's attorney, Joseph Groff, also declined comment.

"With my understanding of the rules in the federal court, it would be improper to comment on this case," Groff said.

Groff has been assisted by lawyer Sid Moore of Atlanta, Ga., who has successfully defended 21 accused khat smugglers, losing only one case, which is under appeal.

Moore says khat, which is legal in most of the world, should not be a cause of concern for American drug enforcement officials, because it does not pose a serious threat to health. It is used almost exclusively in communities of Muslims, who obey their religion's ban against drinking alcohol and use khat as a substitute in social gatherings.

"It produces a mild euphoria, kind of like what you might experience smoking a good cigar," Moore said when he was interviewed last April. "If people could die from ingesting it, like cocaine, then I would have no problem banning it. But there's no danger here, and that's the problem (with the ban.)"

Not everyone agrees that khat is harmless. Studies of the drug quoted in the Journal of Addiction and Mental Health found that in Africa, chronic khat users display symptoms similar to those addicted to amphetamines. Prolonged use has been connected to psychosis and paranoia and violent behavior. Other side effects include anorexia, hypertension and depression.

That syndrome has not been observed here. This might be because of khat's perishable nature. Pulled from an evergreen-type shrub that grows in east Africa and the Arabian peninsula, khat's chemical makeup changes as soon as it is picked.

When fresh, it contains the powerful stimulant cathinone, which is a controlled substance in the same category as cocaine, heroin and LSD. Within three days, however, the cathinone has deteriorated to cathine, which is chemically similar to pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in many over-the-counter cold and diet medicines.

Hussein has been charged with possession of cathinone, but Moore has said that it is unlikely that much cathinone still existed in the khat when he was trying to pick up the package in Portland.

While khat prosecutions have been few, the amounts of the drug that have been seized at America's ports of entry have grown steadily throughout the years. In 1996, authorities confiscated 17.6 tons. That grew to 33.8 tons in 2000, and 37.2 tons last year.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2002