The United Kingdom (U.K.) government has banned the use of the herbal stimulant khat, according to reports.
U.K. went against the advice of their Advisory Council on the Misuse of drug (ACMD), who stated last January that there is not enough evidence supporting that the herb is linked to health issues, according to BBC News.
The herb is already banned in most European countries, and the United States and Canada have also outlawed khat. The U.K. reportedly based its decision on "security and international considerations."
"Failure to take decisive action and change the U.K.'s legislative position on khat would place the UK at a serious risk of becoming a single, regional hub for the illegal onward trafficking," Home Secretary Theresa May said in a statement.
Those who opposed the ban are disappointed with the government's ruling against the stimulant.
"A more proportionate alternative to banning khat and criminalising its use would have been an import ban or making it a supply offence only as applies, for example, to controlled anabolic steroids," Martin Barnes from charity Drugscope told BBC News.
Chewing the herbal stimulant produces a "mild stimulant effect much less potent than stimulant drugs, such as amphetamine," BBC News reports. The ACMD reportedly said there is no evidence of khat made from leaves and shoots of a shrub cultivated in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula is directly linked with "serious or organised crime."
According to reports, khat is used by members of the Somali, Yemeni and Ethiopian communities.
The U.K.'s believes that lack of evidence against khat has led to the ACMD to underestimating the risk to communities who have access to the drug.
"The Home Office said the ban was intended to protect vulnerable members of our communities and would be brought in at the earliest possible opportunity," BBC News reports.
