Addictive Behaviour Group, Centre for Health Service Studies, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7PD, UK.
Int J Drug Policy. 2009 Nov;20(6):509-13. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2009.05.002. Epub 2009 Jun 16.
The regulation of khat, one of the most recent psychoactive drugs to become a globally traded commodity, remains hotly contested within different producer and consumer countries. As regimes vary, it has been possible to compare khat policies in Africa, Europe and North America from different disciplinary perspectives.
Field research was conducted in East Africa and Europe, using a combination of semistructured interviews, participant observation and the analysis of trade statistics.
The research established the significance of khat for rural producers, regional economies, as a tax base and source of foreign exchange. At the same time, khat as a psychoactive substance is associated with health and public safety problems that in turn are met with often ill-informed legislative responses. Bans have in turn lead to the criminalisation of users and sellers and illegal drug markets.
The empirical work from Africa provides a strong argument for promoting evidence-based approaches to khat regulation, harnessing the positive aspects of the khat economy to develop a control model that incorporates the voices and respects the needs of rural producers. Ultimately, the framework for khat may provide both a model and an opportunity for revising the international treaties governing the control of other plant psychoactive-based substances.
作为最近一种成为全球交易商品的具有兴奋作用的毒品，阿拉伯茶的监管在不同的生产国和消费国之间仍然存在激烈的争议。由于各国的制度不同，人们可以从不同的学科角度比较非洲、欧洲和北美的阿拉伯茶政策。
在东非和欧洲进行了实地研究，采用半结构化访谈、参与观察和贸易统计分析相结合的方法。
研究表明，阿拉伯茶对农村生产者、区域经济、作为税收基础和外汇来源具有重要意义。同时，阿拉伯茶作为一种精神活性物质，与健康和公共安全问题有关，而这些问题往往导致立法反应不当。禁令反过来又导致使用者和销售者被定罪，以及非法毒品市场的出现。
来自非洲的实证研究有力地证明了促进以证据为基础的阿拉伯茶监管方法的必要性，利用阿拉伯茶经济的积极方面，制定一种控制模式，纳入农村生产者的声音并尊重他们的需求。最终，阿拉伯茶的框架可能为修订管理其他基于植物的精神活性物质的国际条约提供一个模型和机会。
