June 28, 2013

expert reaction to news that the government is expected to ban khat despite the advice of the ACMD

The Home Secretary was said to be likely to ban the legal drug khat despite the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs finding insufficient evidence to suggest the herbal stimulant causes health problems.

Dr Tim Williams, Chair of the Independent Scientific Committee Drugs’ (ISCD) Working Group on khat, and member of the ACMD Working Group that produced their 2005 assessment of the drug, said:

“It’s very disappointing that Theresa May seems prepared to disregard the independent scientific advice given to Government in order to ban khat. Both the ISCD and ACMD are clear in their appraisal of the evidence: chewing khat is associated with relatively little risk. It seems that the coalition government has bowed to pressure from the US to ‘come into line’ with their drug policies. Banning khat will criminalize sections of the UK population and expose them to greater harm. No-one can be confident that banning khat will lead to a reduction in harmful use, instead it will increase the cost and marginalize and criminalize khat using populations.”

Dr Les King, Former member of the ACMD, said:

“The 2013 ACMD report on khat was one of the best that they have produced in recent times. As a former ACMD member, I was part of the working group that produced an earlier report on khat in 2005. There was no evidence then, and clearly there is no evidence now, that khat is linked to organised crime let alone “Islamic extremism”. Unfortunately, the Government would cite security considerations and never provide any evidence for such a link.

“If khat is banned then users would most likely turn to other substances, all of which are likely to do more damage to individuals and society.”

Prof David Nutt, Chair of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD), said:

“Banning khat shows contempt for reason and evidence, disregard for the sincere efforts of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and most of all, indifference to the welfare and rights of the communities in which khat is used.

“Twice in a decade the government’s expert advisors published reviews showing that the relatively low harms associated with khat cannot justify criminalisation. The ACMD did not recommend inaction, but suggested alternative measures by which any harms associated with khat use can be minimised. Their reviews cited their sources, explained their arguments and are openly available for scrutiny. The government on the other hand has not presented any evidence to refute the ACMD’s case, nor could it. The government cannot demonstrate any grounds to imagine that a ban will help rather than harm khat-using communities. Having made negligible efforts to reach out to and work with the communities involved, to educate, to improve access to services, they cannot claim run out of options to help the affected communities in ways that do not involve locking people up.

“I think they underestimate the electorate’s intelligence, exploiting anecdotes of suffering in the Somali community, whilst keeping their real motivations, such as persistent US pressure, out of the public eye.”