The European Science Foundation (ESF) and Linköping University are organising a conference entitled 'The changing use and misuse of Catha edulis (Khat) in a changing world: tradition, trade and tragedy' from 5 to 9 October in Linköping, Sweden.
Khat, a stimulant plant indigenous to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, contains cathinone, an amphetamine-like alkaloid. Today, millions of farmers and small traders in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Yemen, Somalia, South Africa and Madagascar depend on khat; at the same time, the dramatic ecological, social and health consequences of this boom are increasingly visible.
The conference will bring together selected young and established researchers from different academic fields in order to present and discuss the current state of knowledge on issues related to khat in the Horn of Africa, Europe and elsewhere.
The event will address the following topics:
- economic, ecological and political issues of khat use;
- changing culture of khat use;
- pharmacological, medical and psychological issues related to khat use;
- legislation, regulation and international scheduling.
http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER...ION=&RCN=31001
21-07-2009, 01:31
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