User:Cordless Larry/Khat

Concerns have been expressed about the use of khat by Somalis in the UK. Some commentators, health professionals and community members haved claimed that khat use has negative social and health impacts amongst the Somali community. However, the impact of khat use is the subject of significant debate. One academic has written that:

In the Somali community in the UK, few issues are as contentious as the status of khat. Many maintain that it lies at the root of the social and medical problems that trouble a signicant proportion of the community. To others it is an innocent stimulant and an important aspect of their culture.

In 2005, the Home Office issued a report on research into khat use by Somalis in Birmingham, Bristol, London and Sheffield. The research found that 38 per cent of the sample group had used khat, with 58 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women reporting having used it. The figures for usage in the month preceeding the study were 34 per cent of the total sample, of 51 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women. Three quarters of participants who had used khat reported having suffered health effects, although these were mostly mild in nature. Some reported family tensions arising from their khat use. Only a small minority of the study participants' khat use was judged to be excessive. 49 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of banning khat, with 35 opposed, but the report suggested that such a ban would not be effective. Some Somali community organisations have campaigned for khat to be banned. In 2009, the Home Office commissioned two new studies in the effects of khat use and in June 2010, a Home Office spokesperson stated: "The Government is committed to addressing any form of substance misuse and will keep the issue of khat use under close scrutiny".

In 2008, Conservative politician Sayeeda Warsi suggested that use of khat by Somalis was partly responsible for their low employment rates and poor educational achievement, and stated that a future Conservative government would ban khat. The Conservative Party website states that a Conservative government would "Tackle unacceptable cultural practices by", amongst other measures, "classifying Khat". Brian Whitaker, a journalist for The Guardian specialising in the Middle East, criticised Warsi for making statements not supported by scientific research. The Home Office study found that "a smaller proportion of those who were unemployed compared with those in employment reported using khat". Whitaker himself was criticised by the chair of the British Somali Association for telling "specious stories...about the needs of the 'minority ethnics' and 'freedom of choice'", and for suggesting "that somehow khat is comparable to alcohol". Previously, in 2005, Labour MP Stephen Pound claimed that khat was responsible for relationship problems amongst Somalis. The authors of a book on khat write that: "Khat use has certainly become a factor in family relationships and in community identity, but to regard it as the 'corrosive, visious, and pernicious' driver of family breakdown in the Somali community, to quote MP Stephen Pound, is an absurd and potentially very damaging generalization". The argue that these generalisations have gained weight because they were supported by anti-khat campaigning by members of the Somali community. One review of studies of the impact of khat use by Somali and other immigrants on their mental health suggests that while there is some evidence of a link, causality is not necessarily clear and the public discourse on the issue displays elements of a moral panic.