TY - JOUR
T1 - Is miraa a drug?
T2 - Categorizing Kenyan khat
AU - Carrier, Neil
PY - 2008/5
Y1 - 2008/5
N2 - This article examines the varied perceptions of the substance miraa/khat in Kenya, from strong approval in the Nyambene Hills region where it is cultivated to the strong disapproval evident in its frequent denunciation in various segments of Kenyan society. Perceptions are colored by various local and global discourses, and it is argued that of great importance is "war on drugs" rhetoric, which allows the conflation of miraa with other substances also termed "drugs"; much of the Kenyan miraa debate revolves around just how miraa should be categorized and to whether it can be labeled a "drug." War-on-drugs rhetoric is countered by those more enamored of the substance by discourse in which its use is labeled "traditional," "cool," and an "economic miracle."
AB - This article examines the varied perceptions of the substance miraa/khat in Kenya, from strong approval in the Nyambene Hills region where it is cultivated to the strong disapproval evident in its frequent denunciation in various segments of Kenyan society. Perceptions are colored by various local and global discourses, and it is argued that of great importance is "war on drugs" rhetoric, which allows the conflation of miraa with other substances also termed "drugs"; much of the Kenyan miraa debate revolves around just how miraa should be categorized and to whether it can be labeled a "drug." War-on-drugs rhetoric is countered by those more enamored of the substance by discourse in which its use is labeled "traditional," "cool," and an "economic miracle."
KW - Kenya
KW - Khat
KW - Miraa
KW - Substance use
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=45949108921&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10826080701739016
DO - 10.1080/10826080701739016
M3 - Review article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 18473223
AN - SCOPUS:45949108921
SN - 1082-6084
VL - 43
JO - Substance Use and Misuse
JF - Substance Use and Misuse
IS - 6
ER -