Britain should scrap plan to ban khat drug: lawmakers

By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's plan to ban khat, a leafy plant chewed as a stimulant in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula, should be dropped because it could alienate immigrants and damage counter-terrorism operations, lawmakers said on Friday. Parliament's Home Affairs Committee, a panel with influence but no legal power, said the ban was not based on any evidence of medical or social harm. Banning the use of khat, or qat, would create tension between the police and immigrants, particularly Somalis who have settled across Britain, the committee said in a report. It would also be seen as a betrayal by Kenya, where growing khat is a big source of income in some areas, the panel added.

via Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/britain-scrap-plan-ban-khat-drug-lawmakers-003721061.html