Qat

I had thought that the tide was at last flowing in favour of decriminalising recreational drugs, with the great and the good regularly popping up in the media to explain why management rather than incarceration was the answer, so I was rather depressed to read over the morning half-rye that we are to add qat, a mild narcotic, to the list of things which are illegal.

I suppose the driver is that most of the other prots. in the world have made it illegal and we do not want to become the hub for a multi-billion pound traffic in leaves which might be mistaken for spinach and which might attract shady - if not worse - types from the former Soviet Union. Which is understandable, but I am sure we could come up with a better answer than a criminal sanction on personal consumption.

Sadly, the stuff does not keep so there is not much point in rushing out and buying up a supply. But then again, maybe it freezes OK. I shall check with the booklet that came with our freezer.