Qat - A Parliamentary Question to which you may have missed the answer

Hansard 31 Jan 2006 : Column 369W

Khat (Qat)

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will add khat to the list of substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. [Q No. 43565]

Paul Goggins: No. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in Parliament on 19th January that he had accepted the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that khat should not be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

What is misleading is that the reference is to 19th January 2005 when overweight Charlie Clarke was Home Secretary and being quizzed about re-classifying Cannabis and he said in oral answers to questions ..

"As previously announced, I have accepted the advice to keep Methyl Amphetamine as a class B drug, though this is subject to a review reporting later this year. Similarly I have accepted the Council’s advice not to classify Khat as a controlled drug."

Which will not only cheer up the thousands of East Africans living in the UK who sit chewing it all day, but the suppliers in Kenya and the immensely profitable supply chain that prospers based on the daily deliveries at Heathrow Airport. Is VAT chargeable on the supply of Khat ?

Charlie Clarke took the opportunity that day to remind his listeners that ...

"Growing and selling cannabis is not harmless or idealistic. It is a multi-million pound business, often organised by sophisticated and violent criminals."

You can access the considerable research on Qat (Khat) by Lord Patel Global Botanical Mind Altering Substances Lab and Library here including it's connection with the 21/7 bombers who ocassionally appear at the Old Bailey these days.

PS. Kat is a banned drug / substance through most of Europe and Scandinavia and in North America , as is possession of the chemical stimulant in an isolated form in the UK.