Khat use and drug driving in Africa
Khat use and drug driving in Africa
About 81% of crashes that occur in Ethiopia are credited to driving error which is caused by drug driving. The main drug that contributes the most to the high crash rates in the area and other parts of Africa is Khat. Khat is cultivated predominantly in East Africa and is said to have originated in Ethiopia. Countries that currently produce Khat include Arabia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. It is consumed by almost 20 million people every day and is legal in Ethiopia and other parts of the world like the UK and Netherlands. When in use Khat leads to euphoria, feelings of alertness and excitability followed by irritability and insomnia. It also increases the driver’s confidence which makes them irritable and drive in high speeds. It further impairs the driver’s concetration and leads to a misplaced sense of alertness. Khat consumption causes hallucinations that can lead drivers to swerve to avoid imaginary objects. WHO has classified Khat as a ‘drug of abuse’ that can produce mild to moderate psychological appearance.
To check if a driver has used Khat, the police ask the driver to stick out his/her tongue and check if it is stained green. This is not an effective method because it doesn’t detect the amount of Khat one has ingested. It is difficult to control the use of Khat in Africa because people are less aware of the negative effects of the drug. Furthermore Khat is part of people’s culture; it is chewed everyday as a daily activity and used in events like weddings therefore controlling the substance may create a conflict to people who value their cultures. Its production earns valuable income for many farmers and students and commercial drivers use it to stay awake. This makes it harder for people to stop using the substance. Moreover there is no empirical research being made or evidence presented that shows that khat affects driving impairment. This makes it hard for governments in which khat is legal to impose legislations against the use of the drug. Drink driving is also a big problem in Africa and the police find it hard to control the situation due to the lack of devices such as breathalyzers that would enable them to have proof that a person is drink driving and thus be able to arrest the driver.
In order to control Khat in Africa, there should be an increase in awareness among the puplic on the negative effects of the drug and people should be educated on the consequences Khat can bring to drivers if they use it while driving. Furthermore drivers should be given heavy penalties when found chewing Khat while driving in order to discourage the behaviour.
