Yemen bans khat

Authorities in South Yemen have banned the sale of the mild narcotic khat on weekdays, but said it will be allowed into the city of Aden and its suburbs on weekends.

Checkpoints were set up on Monday around Aden to stop khat shipments from entering the port city. Patrols roamed markets to enforce the ban on its sales. It will only be permitted on Thursdays and Fridays.

The statement said the ban was prompted by complaints from citizens and because of “security, social and health” concerns. It added that khat markets also caused traffic jams.

A local merchant told Associated Press that some of his stock had been burned but he did manage to smuggle some into Aden.

Khat is part of the social fabric of Yemen, Somalia and Ethiopia. Chewing wads of the evergreen herb has a stimulating effect similar to drinking numerous cups of strong coffee.

Others say khat gives feelings of wellbeing, mental alertness, excitement and euphoria, the website Live Science reports. Its use is banned in most of Europe and North America, where cases of abuse have been reported. The United Kingdom ban was largely to prevent it being part of the smuggling route to countries where khat is banned.

Khat ( Catha edulis) is a shrub found in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that contains two alkaloids, cathinone and cathine, which act as stimulants, according to Live Science.

Yemen’s restriction on khat consumption was applied in the formerly independent South Yemen before it united with the north in the 1990s.

Aden has served as the temporary capital of Yemen since forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi recaptured it and four other southern provinces from Shia fighters in mid-2015. Southern militias that fought alongside Hadi’s loyalists have been mostly assimilated in security forces.