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It looks like a plant that could grow in your garden, but the hallucinogenic drug khat is a very potent substance relatively unknown to law enforcement officials in New Hampshire.
On March 2, State Police troopers stopped Mohmed Osman Ahmed, 40, of Roxbury, Mass., and after searching the vehicle, 14 pounds of khat with an approximate street value of $3,000 were seized.
It was the first time the state laboratory had seen the drug in New Hampshire. Law enforcement officials believe the plant — an evergreen shrub native to East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula — was headed to Maine where there is a population of Somali immigrants in the Lewiston area.
Several million people are believed to use khat worldwide. Its use is an established cultural tradition for many social situations in the Middle East, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The leaves, twigs and shoots of the khat plant are typically chewed like tobacco, but also can be made into tea, smoked or sprinkled on food.
The arresting troopers, Bob Larcome and Gary Ingham, had advanced narcotics training and were able to identify the drug, according to State Police Sgt. Richard Mitchell.
"I'm glad the troopers knew what it was, because I don't think I would've been able to identify it. It just reminded me of long strings of rhubarb," Mitchell said. "Our guys can go out and make a cocaine, heroin or marijuana arrest any day of the week. We're just pretty lucky they had the training they had."
Jane Young, chief of the criminal justice bureau of the Attorney General's Office, said there is not enough known activity to label khat an emerging trend — certainly not anything near the emergence of methamphetamines.
"It's not something we have seen or something we've (been notified) is coming this way," Young said. "It's certainly a known drug and people have been trained to identify it, but this is really the first time we've seen it."
Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant that causes excitement and euphoria.
Common side effects include anorexia, tachycardia, hypertension, insomnia and gastric disorders. Chronic use of the drug can result in symptoms such as physical exhaustion, violence and suicidal depression. It can also induce manic behaviors, hyperactivity and hallucinations, and there are reports of khat-induced psychosis, according to the DEA.
Although it is illegal in this country, khat is legal in much of Europe, East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Rockingam County Attorney Jim Reams said the drug has not been seen on the streets at all to his knowledge, and the arrest last month was the first major bust he has heard of in northern New England.
"It's unique in that it loses quality fast, so it takes a sophisticated network to get (it) to the U.S. fast enough to be effective," Reams said. "My sense is it probably will not become a major problem. I'm reluctant to say that, but it seems so unique. It's almost a cultural experience."
It is usually shipped in packaged bundles, according to the DEA, and wrapped in plastic bags or banana leaves to retain moisture and freshness. It is generally smuggled in passenger luggage, overnight express mail, or shipped as air cargo and falsely labeled as "vegetables."
With the I-95 system going through the Seacoast, Portsmouth Police Capt. Janet Champlin said it is possible for new drugs to make their way north from larger cities. At this time, however, the department has never encountered the drug.
"Of course, we're always aware it could become more widespread; we're just not seeing it at this point," she said. "We're concentrating on heroin and crack cocaine that are readily available."
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