Chewing the khat

Published: 4:58PM Sunday August 22, 2010 Source: ONE News

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Sunday has uncovered something suspicious in the shadow of the Mosque in Hamilton - men leaving afternoon prayers and filing into a house next door for their recreational drug of choice.

It's bags of "khat", an amphetamine-like stimulant which is classified as an illegal class C drug in this country.

They chew it to bring on a state of euphoria and excitement.

Several million people in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula are habitual chewers - now they're doing it in Hamilton. Sunday exposes the "khat" culture.

CORRESPONDENT - John Hudson
PRODUCER - Steve Butler and Jane Skinner
CAMERA - Dave Pierce, Ken Dorman, Leander Scott-Donelan and Clint Bruce
EDITOR - Will Kong

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