Miraa! A depressive drug that kills true dreams?
Posted on November 1, 2009 by Saidimu Ole ngais
Miraa chewing is really a big problem in Kenya. I am thinking seriously on how we can rehabilitate the addicts and how we can re-engage the Miraa farmers on non-drug farming. Let’s see how the American approaches the Afghan cocaine so that we can fetch knowledge from there. How is Miraa a problem to you? Most of us relates to Miraa and Miraa use in one way or another. Most of us have chewed the drug or have members of our families who are either ruined by Miraa use or helpless addicts who spend the last coin they have for a few sticks of the drug than buying Unga (Maize floor) for their most deserving families, if they still live with them. So far, Miraa chewing is not illegal in Kenya.
Miraa consumption brings disaster to many families- it depresses promising brains, confining them in a depth of illusions and gigantic empty fantasies built up in empty space throughout the chewing period only to be ruptured soonest the drug potency is diminished in the brain.
I know how sensitive the issue is but the damage it brings to our society is unbearable especially in the long run. If you want to see the destruction Miraa brings, follow the professional chewers for more than 5 years. You do not have to be a doctor to identify psycho-somatic signs and symptoms on a Kanketa (Khat) addict!
The Kenyan government may never address the issue or even acknowledge the reality that Miraa is a drug and it’s ruining our society. But if it did, would you advice the government to cut down Miraa trees and plant food products or cash crops? It takes seven years for a Miraa tree to fully mature. Maize and beans take 3 months! Our nation would be fed and drug and drug related problems reduced.
How can we convince Nyambene to stop producing Miraa? And how can we stop Miraa from taking over Mukogodo youth and killing every true dream on the pursuit of happiness? There is a lot of Miraa export from Nyambene (Meru) to Laikipia up-coming towns. Do you think this is a problem at all?
Saidimu Ole Ngais.
Below is some background knowledge on what Miraa is and what it does to users.
Khat
Khat (pronounced COT) is known by over 40 different street names including, kat, qat, chat, gat, graba, tohai, tschat, and mirraa. Khat is a stimulant derived from Catha Edulis, a 6-12-foot flowering evergreen shrub. The fresh young leaves of the shrub have been consumed where the plant is cultivated, primarily in East Africa and the Arabian peninsula. There, chewing khat predates the use of coffee and is used in a similar social context. It is estimated that over 10 million people use and abuse Khat today, primarily in the Middle East.
Khat is used for its stimulant effects. The effects are similar to but less intense than those of methamphetamine or cocaine. Fresh leaves are chewed and dried leaves are smoked, made into a paste and chewed, or brewed in tea. Used moderately, khat alleviates fatigue and reduces appetite. Long term use or abuse can cause insomnia, anorexia, gastric disorders, depression, liver damage and cardiac complications. Manic behavior, delusional behavior, violence, suicidal depression, hallucinations, paranoia and khat-induced psychosis have also been reported.
Khat contains a number of chemicals among which are two controlled substances, cathinone (Schedule I) and cathine (Schedule IV). As the leaves mature or dry, cathinone is converted to cathine which significantly reduces its stimulatory properties. Cathinone is approximately 10 more times more potent than cathine and is only present in fresh leaves.
Cathine, the secondary active ingredient in Khat, does not lose much of its potency with age as with cathinone. Leaves less than 48 hours old are preferred to ensure a maximum potency of cathinone. However, Khat can be preserved by freezing, the same way that vegetables and meats are kept fresh in the United States.
Source; http://www.streetdrugs.org/khat.htm
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