I love to play Scrabble, but I’m not very good. My friends and work colleagues routinely outplay me. But I play on.
In Scrabble, there are only a few “q” words that don’t require the vowel “u”. One of those is “qat”. Until recently, I had only a faint idea about its meaning or significance.
That all changed when I read a short article in a recent NG. As it turns out, qat is a drug (stimulant) that is routinely used in Yemen and Africa’s Horn, but is illegal in the US and Canada. In other parts of the western world (including the UK), however, it is very much legal.
According to one report: “Because the plant produces alkaloid stimulants, perhaps three quarters of Yemeni adults chew qat leaves each afternoon, for a period lasting at least five hours. People spend about one-quarter to one-third of their cash income on qat. And because qat has come to mean everything in Yemeni life, some among the poorer segment of society will willingly forego food in favor of buying qat.” (ag.arizona.edu/~lmilich/yemen.html)
The reason qat peaked my interest is because it’s cultivation and use is expanding into areas like Uganda (a country whose people I dearly love) and Rwanda. It is also flown daily to expats in Europe and Australia. It is important to get the qat bunches to the end user within 48 hours, while it is still fresh and potent.
Qat, as a crop, is profitable and easy to grow. In Yemen, the size of irrigated crop fields has expanded more than tenfold since 1970, causing concern over shrinking aquifers. In neighboring Ethiopia, qat has become a top foreign-exchange earner. In the West, countries have debated whether to leave the leaf legal, like tobacco, or ban it, like marijuana.
The use of qat reminds me of my experience with coca leaves in Bolivia. Coca leaves, when chewed, like qat also have a mild stimulant effect. They contain, among other things, minor quantities of cocaine. We chewed coca leaves to help relieve the symptoms of altitude sickness. The areas where we worked were approximately 12,000 ft above sea-level. In South America, coca leaves also have social and religious significance.
The whole issue with minor drugs is very convoluted. It seems qat and coca leaves ought to be legal. Yet I have a hard time justifying tobacco. It is difficult watching by friends smoke the latter.
According to Dean Hamer writing in “The God Gene” (p. 81-82):
“Pychoactive plants have been used for religious purposes for centuries. The peyote cactus, who main active ingredient is mescaline, was used by the Aztecs before the birth of Christ. Mushroom-shaped stone artifacts from 100 BC to AD 300 have been discovered at multiple sites in Guatemala. Siberian shamans used the mushroom Amanita muscaria to induce religious trances. To this day Native Americans in Mexico and the southwestern United States use mushrooms, morning glory seeds, and cactus in their religious ceremonies.
Drug-induced visions are, or course, not the same as spontaneous mystical experiences. Nevertheless, they may provide useful insights into some of the basic brain mechanisms underlying altered states of consicousness and thier relationship to spirituality.”
According to NG Mag (December 2003):
Historically the British ranked as the world’s leading tea drinkers, but rushed lifestyles — along with a new thirst for alternative beverages — have caused consumption of tea to plummet in recent years.”
Now the world champion tea drinkers are the Turks, whose tea consumption in 2002 came to 5.05 pounds per person. Turkish custom calls for endless small servings. A tea-loving Turk can knowck back more than 20 tiny glasses of the hot brew daily.”
Every culture has their “poison.”
The following are from NG letters to the editor (March 2010, p. 10-11) commenting on their short discussion of qat:
“This brought back memories of the years I spent . . . in northern Somalia from 1962 to 1964. The young men there received a monthly stipend. Many of them spent it immediately on qat. Fortunately, the price was too great for it to be of much influence.” “The expert quoted in your article left out one of the effects: constipation.” “Qat is forbidden to Muslims. The devout do not partake.” R.G. Blair, Paso Robles, California
“‘Soon you’ll feel less hungry, more alert, a little euphoric.’ In light of skyrocketing levels of obesity, sleep deprivation, and depression, it seems that a little qat might do America some good.” Nel de Jong, Durham, North Carolina