DOES KHAT CAUSES MENTAL ILLNESS ??

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

Khat and dance as Israelis blot out intifada

Nightlife in Tel Aviv on a par with the best in London and New York

Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv

The Guardian

 

 

It is Thursday night and the young of Tel Aviv are queuing for their supplies for the big night out of the Jewish week.

At the city-centre kiosks, some customers ask for cigarettes or some gum, but about one in three furtively inquires: "Hagigat?"

 

The shopkeeper looks straight ahead. His hand moves below the counter and he pulls out a small white capsule, which he exchanges discreetly for 50 shekels (£6.50).

 

Hagigat is the latest in a line of legal drugs which add spice to Tel Aviv's already potent night life.

 

It means "party" in Hebrew and is derived from khat, a plant chewed in Somalia and Yemen for its amphetamine effect. Other legal drugs include "liquid energy", a test tube of viscous plant extracts, and amyl nitrate or poppers.

 

As Tuesday's suicide bomb attack in Beersheba demonstrated, the conflict continues; Palestinian frustration is boiling less than a 20-minute drive from Tel Aviv. Yet the party goes on, driven by a desire to escape the grim realities of Israeli life.

 

In the past four years of the intifada, Tel Aviv's nightlife has gone from strength to strength. Larger and better bars, and clubs that would put London, New York and Paris to shame, open and close regularly to satisfy fickle tastes.

 

The only major upset was the killing of 21 young people in June 2001 as they queued for the Dolphinarium nightclub on the city seafront.

 

"It was only when there was the bombing at the Dolphinarium that it hit people," said Amir Bar Yitzhak, the editor of the Leyla nightlife website.

 

"That was right at the centre of nightlife. That started a decline in people going out, but they got used to it. Then people decided they were going to go out in spite of everything and party until they fell down. That has levelled out a bit now and things are more normal."

 

Legal drugs have become a major part of the hedonism. Hagigat is described on the packaging as "an aphrodisiac of organic material. 100% natural without chemicals".

 

"Drink after food and take with a lot of water. Sell only to those over 18," it advises.

 

Ronen Hazut, the owner of a city-centre kiosk, said: "Hagigat sells fast. People take this pill and say it's amazing. It's our biggest money maker and that's why we sell it."

 

Moshe Haimkevitch, his partner who has taken the drug, said: "You feel high, but you're still alert and know what you're doing. You have power and energy, and most important, it makes you incredibly horny," he told the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

 

Another popular product is Liquid Energy, sold at a similar price. "This is drunk mainly during parties, and has to be shaken well. It has good effects and gives energy," said Mr Haimkevitch.

 

In the past year several new venues have opened, described as "pick-up" bars. They feature large serving areas surrounded by scores of bar stools to ensure that everyone is visible to members of the opposite sex.

 

David Tur opened Tel Aviv's largest bar, Lansky, last year. It cost more than a £1m to fit out and features 100 bar stools around the longest bar in the Middle East, if not Europe.

 

"People come here because they want to see people. The customers here are mostly single or cheaters," he said. "This place is labelled a pick-up bar. I don't know what that means. There is a lot of interaction between people who don't know each other. If that makes it a pick-up bar, then it is."

 

Mr Tur, who worked in London for several years, said the nightlife experience in Tel Aviv was totally different.

 

"The interaction is very different here compared to London. Here you can see everybody, you are sitting next to everybody. It's not like you are going to a bar with your friends, you are sharing the experience with everyone," he said.

 

Mr Bar Yitzhak added: "The atmosphere is warm, open and welcoming. Everything is straightforward. There is rarely any violence and you don't see any obvious drunkenness. You can always make friends; there is always someone to talk to."

 

When drawn on the subject, most Tel Aviv residents favour compromise to achieve peace with the Palestinians. But on the whole they try to block out the military regime and the oppression of Palestinians.

 

"I can appreciate it isn't much fun living in a refugee camp, or in the West Bank," Mr Bar Yitzhak said. "But I think it is hard for people elsewhere to imagine what it is like for someone to come to your favourite bar or cafe and blow themselves up.

 

"We are in the middle of the barrel of a gun, yet everything is still so alive."

 

A resident of Israel, originally from the UK, describes taking hagigat:

 

I discreetly slip the capsule into my mouth and wash it down with Czech beer. Around the bar, I can see groups of men and women talking animatedly and some are dancing.

 

Typical Brit, I won't dance or initiate conversation.

 

"Where you are from?" pipes up one of my female neighbours."So you like Israel?" she continues.

 

Rather than retreat into my shell, I smile broadly and start to chat. I feel a tingly sensation and a sense of confidence. I've had just one small glass of beer: this could only be the hagigat.

 

The music is now flowing through my body. I look around the bar indulgently. This is a great night.

 

Now I feel more than warm, almost sensuous.I need to stroke something, anything. The feeling remains with me for the next couple of hours.

 

Eventually I feel a sense of anxiety and the warmth decreases. I feel impatient and I need another drink or maybe just another hagigat.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1296958,00.html

[Malika]

""You feel high, but you're still alert and know what you're doing. You have power and energy, and most important, it makes you incredibly horny,"

 

Does Khaat give similar effect?,if so it must be darn hard being in a room full of men,when one is being "incredibly horny"

[Jacaylbaro]

hahahaha ,,,,,,,

 

 

it can do kinda stuff but only in the mind ,,,, the person can feel so horny but can do nothing in practical move ,,,,,

 

Abshir Bacadle: "Qalbi qooqan , ***** aan wax tarin, qaadow adigaa leh"

[FatB]

^^ talking from experience eh baro

[umu zakaria]

salam , i want to hate anyone who uses that damn thing but i cant, my own family is so affected. my uncle, father and younger brother all use it and believe me they were best pple u would wanna spend alot of time with but now it turned them into monsters.

 

i just pray all somalis quit and see all the dangers it couses.

[Omer]

KHAT IS GOOD 4 THE SOUL AND IS GOOD 4 THE SOMALI COMMUNITY!!

[me]

^Your probably representing the Somali Dentist Association (SDA). Or the Somali Divorce Lawyers Union (SDLU) or maybe the Ethiopian-Kenyan Khat Growers Lobby. Take your pick.

[Omer]

all of it u know, but KHAT is our culture, our symbol when khat is mentioned around the world they remember us the SOMALI'S

[Ibtisam]

Akhaas, remember us kuulaah, :rolleyes: How could they forget :mad:

[Jacaylbaro]

I think they remember Omer ,,,,,

[Omer]

come on guys salute the khat crew wave the khat in the air like u just don't care

[Omer]

KHAT is good for you its the source of medicine that can cure stress and gives u a high successful rate in attracting women

[Curly]

Does khat cause mental health issues? I think the abuse of khat is the important issue here as appose to the light social use of khat. You’d only have to pay a visit to mental health clinics in areas populated by Somalis to see the impact that the abuse of khat has had and unsurprisingly it’s almost always the same problems these men have. These range from paranoia, schizophrenia and in many cases hostile and violent behaviour and even just a addictive nature. I’m not entirely sure whether it’s the result of direct or indirect khat abuse. As it has been already identified that insomnia brings about the same very symptoms one could then conclude that khat brings about insomnia which then leads to mental health issues, either way it’s a type of narcotic which in my eyes only brings evil.

 

Would I want it banned…Do you seriously think banning the damn thing would stop the most reliant of individuals and even allow them to mend their ways? I think it’s safe to say that criminalising the act would only criminalise our people further and in turn cause finically difficulties to the families of those addicted spouses. Obviously in the long term it would be a brilliant thing to rid our society of khat but in the short term which could be several decades they would undoubtedly suffer.

[sYric-STiPHuLLa]

Originally posted by Omer:

KHAT is good for you its the source of medicine that can cure stress and gives u a high successful rate in attracting women

 

 

if you can see this other gif.. your probably chewing right now!!!

 

[Hunguri]

Jacaylbro , send me a Kilo of Hawadai Bunch of Kat. Im sure, you must be close to the farm of ina Afdiinle. You may say salam to Sahuur too. Alla ha sahlo.