Adam F, Hasselot N
Laboratoire de Biochimie, Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Laveran, Marseille, France.
Med Trop (Mars). 1994;54(2):141-4.
In much of East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, the leaves of the qat tree (Catha edulis Forsk) are highly prized for their euphoric effects. Use is deeply anchored in regional customs and traditions. Once controversial, the chemical properties of qat are now well-documented; the active agent responsible for the physical and mental effects observed when the leaves are chewed is cathinone or alpha-aminopropiophenone. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, qat is not classified as an inevitably addictive drug. However recent reports of psychosis related to qat abuse in Great Britain and the United States have raised new alarm in the Narcotics Commission of the United Nations. Should qat be prohibited? International law on this issue is currently highly ambiguous. Importation of qat is illegal in France as in Switzerland, but legal in the United States and Great Britain as in most African countries.
在东非大部分地区和阿拉伯半岛，巧茶（Catha edulis Forsk）树的叶子因其带来的欣快感而备受珍视。其使用深深植根于当地的习俗和传统之中。巧茶曾颇具争议，但其化学特性如今已有详尽记录；咀嚼叶子时所观察到的身心效应的活性剂是卡西酮或α-氨基苯丙酮。根据世界卫生组织的定义，巧茶未被归类为必然成瘾性药物。然而，近期英国和美国有关巧茶滥用导致精神病的报告在联合国麻醉品委员会引发了新的警觉。巧茶应该被禁止吗？关于这个问题的国际法目前极为模糊。在法国和瑞士，进口巧茶是非法的，但在美国、英国以及大多数非洲国家却是合法的。
