Psychiatric and social aspects of khat narcomania

Psychostimulators were always attended by the narcologists. Mostly it is determined by two very important facts:

• severe medical complications, such as cardiovascular diseases, exhaustion, immune depression;


• social aftermaths – loss of employability, birth rate decrease, marital breakdowns.

Psychiatric interest in stimulators of neural system has, by the mean some, of other causes. All stimulators demonstrate high abuse potential, which allow classifying these substances as classic abused drugs.

Khat addiction. What is it?

Khat is a bush plant, which grows mostly in Ethiopia Kenya and some other countries of African continent. Khat bushes are cultivated in enormous, particularly in industrial scale in this regions and it all legal.

Cathinon, active substance of khat plant, is like methamphetamine and ephedrine in the same time, which means it has highly expressed empathogenic and stimulate effects.

There also some data about hallucinogenic effects of cathinon, but this effect is very slight and rarely expressed.

The incidence of khat addiction

There were very little literate reports about this problem till last time. This problem has become more actual with new, more effective transport technologies which allow transporting fresh khat leaves on great distances.

Khat addiction slowly spread from its natural “focus”. Khat leaves are now used in countries of Europe, Asia and America. There also more and more reports of khat addiction in post-soviet space countries.

On the territory of North-East Africa countries, like Ethiopia or Kenya khat use is nothing like narkological or psychiatric problem – it’s a tradition. There a great amount of khat-users among the people in this countries and in some settlements it reaches 95 percents.

Khat addiction regarded as classic drug addiction in Ukranian narkological practice and for this reason it is controlled by law and treated in a proper way.

General influence of khat addiction

Cathinon affects on organism through activate mediators in neural system, just like any other psychostimulators. Cathinon changes balance of serotonin and dopamine – “hormones of encouragement” and, of course it has influence on “hormones of pleasure” – endorphins.

These changes altogether have an impact on cardio-vascular system work, which controls, among other mechanisms, by the central neural system, that’s why catinon have a lot of cardiovascular effects, such as tachycardia, high blood pressure and high oxygen consumption by the heart muscle. In the brain these effects result in slight oxygen leak. In result there can develop all kinds of vascular disorders like insults or ischemia of miokard.

Very important aspect of khat addiction, which can occur with regular abuse of khat leaves, is cachexia. This happens because of cathinon, which has anorexogenic effect. Sometimes this effect appear so strong that only food of person become khat leaves.

Appetite disappears for 8 -10 hours after usage of drug, but after this time the digestion system work make the full recovery. It goes other way if khat usage becomes usual for organism. In this case addicted person starts to fell hunger not like need to take some food, but like need to take new portion of drug, so it set going vicious circle that’s lead to progressive exhaustion of organism.

A psychiatric aspect of khat leaves usage

The way in which khat influences on mentality is almost the same in which cocaine do. All effects could be divided in two phases: the tonic one and the depressive one. When khat usage becomes regular, especially in significant doses, depressive phases can last longer than usual and even continue after new dosage event. Also sometimes the paranoid psychosis can occur.

For the khat addiction strong psychological dependence and appearance of specific abstinence syndrome is typical. A person who can’t take a new dose of chat leaves in some reasons and used to regular usage of drug becomes irritable and troublous. Khat addiction causes curbing of interests while not as strong as other stimulator addictions.

Against the background of khat usage epileptic seizures can appear and become regular in time, as usual epileptic episodes. If it happens epileptic personality disorders, like stiff thinking and pathological detalization will appear too.

Social aspects of khat addiction

Social aftermaths come to the fore in the point of any kind of drug addiction. Mostly, any aftermaths of addiction caused by the social ones.

If person using khat time by time it can have no influence on person’s life in society but abuse of this drug can have strong bad influence on all social aspects of life.

The financial question stands on one of the first places. Still financial support of African countries is unpleasant. Khat addicted people often use khat leaves for work stimulation, but because of high cost of khat, this tactics which aimed at getting more money works vice versa.

Demography often suffers because of behave reactions and self characteristic changes, which are above-described. Khat addiction promote marital breakdowns, uncontrolled sexual behavior, spread of sexually-transmitted infections.

Demographic questions particularly topical in European countries, where birth rate is much more lower than in Africa.

Khat addiction always have social aftermaths even in Ethiopia and Kenya, where khat leaves usage is understands as essential element of people’s life.