POLL: Should Miraa be Classified as a Cash Crop or a Drug?

April 25, 2016
by

miraaOn Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law a bill that recognizes Miraa as a cash crop.
He also allocated Sh1 billion to Miraa farmers to protect them from EU market.
The mild stimulant has been banned in Europe with the UK putting the final nail in 2014. That took away a big market, but Somalis in other regions still enjoy it.
North Eastern leaders have come out strongly against President Uhuru’s latest move, saying Miraa does to their youth what illicit brew does to Central Kenya youths.


By recognizing Miraa as a cash crop that needs to be protected, President Uhuru played a political card. Meru is part of the largest voting block in the country, GEMA, and luckily it belongs to him. Not to take their support for granted, Uhuru has to do everything to please them.
On the other hand, the effects of chewing Miraa are less than tobacco and alcohol, two very legal drugs.
While it has been scientifically proven that tobacco increases your chances of getting lung cancer and alcohol liver cirrhosis, khat has not been linked to any adverse medical effects.
It’s so ‘safe’ that one of the reason put forth when UK was debating its ban was that the plastic bags it is carried in were littering some streetz. It’s as if they had a litter problem not a Miraa problem.
Anyway, what do you think. How should Miraa be classified?

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