The usage of khat (Catha edulis), a plant that grows in the Middle East and is commonly used as an amphetamine like drug, has spread from its origin in the to Middle East to have effects on people worldwide. The drug that was originally harvested in Ethiopia in the 13th century and spread to Yemen, the country where its usage is most common, sometime in the 15th century (El-Menyar et al 2015). Since this time the plant has been used as an amphetamine like drug mainly in the Middle East but has recently spread to the global level. This has caused impacts both medically and economically. Some people believe that khat can be used medicinally because of its amphetamine like properties, however, a lack of research and plethora of know side effects
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In Yemen many people use khat on a daily basis in order to be more productive. Yemen is the main area where all of the problems that I stated stem from. The usage of khat in the region has been around since the 15th century so it is very commonplace. Many users in the area have no idea about the negative long-term side affects until they experience them. Also this is where you see an extreme lack of research based on addiction. However, some people have begun researching in the area to show the negative side affects. Another area where it is prevalent is Saudi Arabia; in the area they have begun more research on addiction. An experiment was staged with regular khat users and people who haven’t used the drug before. Both parties were asked to talk about their symptoms on the drug. The people who were addicted reported having much stronger feelings of depression and paranoia than those who rarely used the drug (Gezon 2012). This new influx of data obviously proves that there are issues with khat usage in this region. The research shows that addiction is real and it can cause some major unwanted consequences such as paranoia and depression. If the global users were more informed about what this drug is capable of global usage would drop dramatically. When it is so commonplace that people do not see it as even a drug but a spiritual necessity (Wolf et al 2014). More research needs to be done in order to slow usage in high use areas and make it so that the drug doesn’t spread to a global
In Yemen many people use khat on a daily basis in order to be more productive. Yemen is the main area where all of the problems that I stated stem from. The usage of khat in the region has been around since the 15th century so it is very commonplace. Many users in the area have no idea about the negative long-term side affects until they experience them. Also this is where you see an extreme lack of research based on addiction. However, some people have begun researching in the area to show the negative side affects. Another area where it is prevalent is Saudi Arabia; in the area they have begun more research on addiction. An experiment was staged with regular khat users and people who haven’t used the drug before. Both parties were asked to talk about their symptoms on the drug. The people who were addicted reported having much stronger feelings of depression and paranoia than those who rarely used the drug (Gezon 2012). This new influx of data obviously proves that there are issues with khat usage in this region. The research shows that addiction is real and it can cause some major unwanted consequences such as paranoia and depression. If the global users were more informed about what this drug is capable of global usage would drop dramatically. When it is so commonplace that people do not see it as even a drug but a spiritual necessity (Wolf et al 2014). More research needs to be done in order to slow usage in high use areas and make it so that the drug doesn’t spread to a global