Khat
From Pharmacopedia
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Plant Medicine, Excitantia, Cathinone source
Khat
Catha edulis. Chat, qat, the Flower of Paradise
Khat is the fresh leaf of Catha edulis (Celastraceae), chewed daily by a large fraction of the population in Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa. Cathinone is roughly equivalent to ~5 mg methamphetamine per chewing session, but more euphoric and short-acting. Yemen devotes ~40% of its arable land to khat cultivation.
Methcathinone, Amphetamine, Cathinone
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Summary
Classes
Plant Medicine, Excitantia, Cathinone source
Common uses
Alertness0, Social stimulant0
Pharmacy
Starting dose
A marduuf bundle (~50 g fresh leaves) chewed over a couple of hours
Preparations
Fresh leaves and tender twigs chewed; degrades on drying
Pharmacology
Routes
Oral (buccal absorption)
Onset
15–30 min
Duration
2–4 h
Legal status
Schedule I in US since 1993 (despite traditional use elsewhere); legal in Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen, Somalia, Djibouti
Purported mechanism
Primary alkaloid is (S)-(-)-cathinone, a phenylpropanolamine close kin to amphetamine. Releases dopamine and norepinephrine. Also contains cathine (=norpseudoephedrine) and norephedrine.
“Pendell's corner
"About like five milligrams of methamphetamine." But more euphoric and much shorter acting.
— Dale Pendell, Pharmako/Dynamis, p. 143