255673

Khat (Catha edulis) Plant Abuse in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study

Article

Last updated: 04 Jan 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Experimental Toxicology

Abstract

The khat plant is a natural stimulant cultivated in both the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa; the khat trade is considered a source of income within countries of these regions. Saudi Arabia represents the first destination for khat smugglers whereas its borders are very close to Yemen in which Khat has been part of their culture for a long time. Based on examinations, the negative culture associated with narcotic drugs is increasing among the Saudi teenage population. Therefore, seizures of smuggled drugs are causing alarm among both scientists and local authorities. This article focuses on the issue of khat smuggling to Saudi Arabia. Study of the problem was performed through the analysis of 7 years of data (2010 – 2016) obtained by Saudi Customs and other governmental entities responsible for monitoring the smuggling of drugs, which includes data reflecting the amount of khat seized and smuggled to Saudi Arabia. Results revealed that Khat smuggling has increased in Saudi Arabia over seven years (2010-2016). The analysis of data on both the promotion and smuggling of khat were considered, and placed khat in third place among other drugs since the year 1999. Statistically, Jazan is the most vulnerable to the smuggling of khat. The design of intervention programs is recommended to address the problem of khat smuggling in the Jazan region. Additionally, awareness should be increased among the youth through cooperation between public education and higher education.

DOI

10.21608/mjfmct.2022.146054.1048

Keywords

Khat plant, Catha edulis, Abuse, Saudi Arabia, A retrospective record analysis Smuggling of khat

Authors

First Name

Tareq

Last Name

Alahmadi

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Science , King Fahd Security College, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Email

tmh991@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

30

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

35037

Issue Date

2022-07-01

Receive Date

2022-06-21

Publish Date

2022-07-01

Page Start

43

Page End

48

Print ISSN

1110-5437

Online ISSN

2682-3217

Link

https://mjfmct.journals.ekb.eg/article_255673.html

Detail API

https://mjfmct.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=255673

Order

4

Type

Original Article

Type Code

966

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Mansoura Journal of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology

Publication Link

https://mjfmct.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Khat (Catha edulis) Plant Abuse in Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023