London - Khat will be banned in UK on May 2014 after the parliament passed the proposed legislation on Monday the 31st of March 2014 with the vote of 16 MPs who voted YES with only two against.
It is now expected that the ban will be announced officially in a meeting to be held at theHome Office on the 17th of April 2014. The proposed legislation indicates that the ban will come into effect on the 26th of May 2014 as shown in this draft legislation document.
Khat has destroyed the lives of many Somalis in UK . In addition to mental and dental health problems, it is the major cause of family break-downs among the Somali community. Visit No 15 Mafresh at Southall next to the train station. It is open 24 hours a day , seven days a week. Addicts sleep there in shifts. Some even use cars parked in-front of the Mafresh as their sleeping places.
After the ban the addicts will be given better opportunities in life with rehabilitation and treatment . Khat business owners will be supported by the government to change the Mafreshes into cafe’ shops or other legal businesses.
Khat users will be given enough information in advance about the consequences of selling or importing Khat whence it is banned. The metropolitan police has recently circulated fliers showing that those caught with Khat for personal use could face upto 2 years in jail while importers could end-up in 15 years sentence.
Britain is an island with effective border control and has Scotland Yard to police the country. It will therefore, be very difficult to smuggle Khat into Britain , like the other expensive drugs which are mostly used by the rich , because of its low value. The coming two months will be the last for chewable Khat in UK not mentioning powder (garaabo) or liquefied khat syrup currently used by some Yemenis.
On the other hand ,whence khat import through Heathrow airport is stopped , it is hoped that there will be no more khat trafficking to the Americas or Europe through the UK. Khat consumption will therefore, be minimal outside the Horn of Africa with the exception of Yemen which grows its own kind.
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