Khat, a flowering evergreen shrub native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, is cultivated for its psychoactive leaves, that are historically chewed or brewed right into a tea. The leaves include cathinone, an alkaloid that produces stimulant results just like amphetamine.
Khat has a protracted historical past of use within the areas the place it’s grown, with proof of its consumption courting again to historical occasions. As we speak, khat stays an vital a part of social and cultural life in lots of components of East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the place it’s typically used as a leisure drug or as a option to improve alertness and focus.
