KHAT AND ITS EFFECTS

 

Khat, or Miraa is the main cash crop for the Meru and Embu community in Kenya. After Netherland banned this stimulant, now the United Kingdom has followed suit classifying the herb as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs act.

 Feeling sorry for the Meru community who would now be losing ksh 42 million per week. This I am sure would affect negatively the economy of the meru who I believe at the moment do not have an alternative source of revenue. As one of my Meru  friend usually say, “hiyo ndiyo fees yangu”. That the miraa business is paying the almost 0.5 million Kenya shillings school fees for parallel medical students.

Now as a medic, I must look at the effects of khat. It may be unsafe for use and can cause psychological dependence.

Khat can cause many side effects:-

·         Increased alertness, excessive talkativeness and mood changes.

·         Hyperactivity, excitement and aggressiveness

·         Anxiety, elevated blood pressure, faster breathing rate, temperature and sweating

·         Mouth ulcers, inflammation of the esophagus and stomach, gum disease jaw problems, oral and stomach cancer and even constipation.

·         Changes in sex drive, testicular degeneration and inability to get an erection leading to impotence.

·         Chewing of khat leaves has led to infections.

·         It is unsafe to use khat in pregnancy or breastfeeding, it lowers the birth weight and the chemicals can also pass into breast milk

·         It lowers appetite causing people to skip meals and eating becomes less routine.

The list might be longer, not forgetting dependency of the drug besides affecting the health of an individual it also leads to economic loses to the consumers.

 I have seen people neglecting their responsibilities and family just to satisfy this addiction. Especially on Friday and Saturdays termed as ‘saga day”, ( chewing day ). Groups and individuals go out to ‘maskani’ recreation or relaxation social places and stay out the whole night leaving their family and the wife unattended to. They are left to burn the night candle in loneliness, not getting their ‘rights’. This leads to breakage of many families which is the core pillar of our society.

What saddens me is the facts that many women are also into this addiction nowadays. For me seeing a woman, a mother chewing Miraa…….. not a good scene!!!

The side effects mentioned are enough to make an individual make the right decision of not using this toxic herb.