"We were drugged": Is khat preventing the revolution in Yemen?
There is an interactive poll running on the homepage of the Yemen Times which asks: "Do you think khat affects the political process in Yemen?" You can vote on it here.
Khat is illegal in the United States and the World Health Organization classifies it as a drug that can cause mild psychological dependence. But 80 per cent of men and 45 percent of women in Yemen are regular khat leaf chewers writes Mary Slosson.
Thousands of people have been protesting in Yemen during the past few weeks. But Khalid al-Hamri, a student in Yemen, tells the Washington Post it would be pointless to protest in the afternoon: "In the morning, all the government officials are in their offices. They will hear our protests. In the afternoon, nobody will listen to us because everybody is chewing khat."
Khaled Abdullah suggests in an article for Reuters that khat addiction may stem the protests. The article quotes aluminum worker Ahmed al-Hazoura: "Nothing quiets people like khat ... If it wasn't for khat, everyone here would be in the streets protesting."
Prashanth Parameswaran blogs that it is a "chronic national addiction", leaving the corrupt government "relegated to the attic of their memories in evening khat ceremonies."
Yemenforchange tweeted: "We were drugged & unfortunately most of us still drugged but it's time to wake up."
But this blogger totally disagrees.
How does khat addiction affect the political process in Yemen ? Post your thoughts here.
