CATHA EDULIS

FAMILY :: CELASTRACEAE

QAT, JÂT, CHAT, KHAT, ARABIAN TEA: Of all the plants listed for sale in this catalog, this is probably the most controversial (in legal terms). Although it is listed in a previous edition of The Sunset Garden Book as an ornamental, there are people in power in this world who think that the effects of chewing Khat are — how do I say this diplomatically — undesirable.

According to a grant sponsored by the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control, the main subjective effects of Khat use are “euphoria, improved intellectual efficiency and alertness.” The active principles are norpseudoephedrine and cathinone. It is non addictive, but excessive use can produce some symptoms of amphetamine psychosis. A synthetic diet drug related to cathinone is phenylpropanolamine.
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