Novel Drug Conviction Upheld by 7th Circuit (it's not illegal but it is....)
Novel Drug Conviction Upheld by 7th Circuit
CHICAGO (CN) - Two men who distributed a drug-containing plant, popular in Somalia but largely unknown in the United States, out of an Indianapolis coffee shop cannot overturn drug conspiracy convictions, the 7th Circuit ruled.
"This case introduces a new drug culture to the Seventh Circuit: the underground world of 'khat,'" Judge William Bauer began the court's 33-page opinion.
Khat is the common name for the Catha edulis, a plant that primarily grows on the Arabian Peninsula and in parts of East Africa. When chewed or mixed in tea, khat leaves deliver stimulant effects.
The plant is legal in Somalia where "estimates put its use among Somali men as being equivalent to caffeine or tobacco use among the American population," the 7th Circuit noted.
Although khat plants themselves are not illegal in the United States, they contain cathinone and cathine, which are schedule I and schedule IV substances, respectively.
"Not all khat leaves contain the same or similar amounts of either substance, however; some contain none," Bauer wrote. "The regulation of khat then is dependent upon the particular chemical composition of each leaf, which may vary depending on the size of the plant and when the plant was harvested."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/31/59873.htm