Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president of the transitional federal government of Somalia, on Monday called for members of the military and police to stop chewing the narcotic leaves of khat.
Speaking at a Mogadishu ceremony marking the 67th anniversary of the creation of Somalia’s police forces, Ahmed told reporters that he is aware of how difficult it is for Somali police and military forces to give up the consumption of khat, which he said could hamper people’s brains and feelings.
He noted that a number of soldiers had decided to give up the habit and said strict action should be taken against those using the stimulant.
“I believe that many of our powerful police and military forces have taken a right decision to renounce chewing khat. I am telling the others to lessen days of using it and that will precipitate to give up it completely soon.” Ahmed told All Headline News.
He urged Somali soldiers to spend their salaries to ward off the starvation of their poor families rather than buying khat leaves every day.
Khat is the drug of choice in Somalia, eastern Africa and southern parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
In Somalia, 75 percent of adult males are estimated to use khat, which are the leaves and young shoots of an evergreen shrub. Trade in the drug in Somalia is worth about $300,000 a day, according to Kenya's National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse.
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