catha edulis (khat) legal in usa or not

[brandondrums]

does anyone in america grow khat ive heard it is illegal is this true :?:  does anyone have seeds of this plant :?:  because i know its not illegal to send just the seeds in the mail.. im just wondering if anyone grows this and if the effects are nice??? :?:

[Avery L. Breath]

Quote from erowid:  Khat is not specifically listed in any schedule in the United States. However the federal government appears to be treating Khat as equivalent of Cathinone, one of the chemical constituents in the plant. Cathinone is Schedule I in the United States, making it illegal to buy, sell or possess.

 http://www.erowid.org/plants/khat/khat.shtml


It's funny how I still see places online based in america that sell it, but it's still illegal and we don't allow it to be traded on this particular forum if you live in places where it's illegal, like the states.  Sorry.

[brandondrums]

yeah im not trying to grow it anyway i would die in jail.. :shock:

[Avery L. Breath]

You asked.....

[Stonehenge]

I have seeds of it and the seeds are perfectly legal. It's kind of a stealth plant because even if it contains a banned substance, no one knows what it is. It looks like many ornamental plants and no one would know to test it. Even if they did, you could act surprised and say they were growing there when you moved in. Or you could say some out of town relative gave them to you because you wanted a plant for your back yard.

But just to be on the safe side, better not grow any.

[Avery L. Breath]

Well, any enterprising agent could look at your computer files and the possible books you have around and deduce the ignorance ploy is just that.

And reguardless how you interpret the law, this particular subject was debated to exaustion here @ the old site and the overiding conclusion is that we will not allow that to be traded here.  Nor do we allow the discussion of illegal activity.  So you stating that you own seeds of said plant falls into that catagory too.  So I'm going to lock and move this thread later on today.  Untill then your welcome to comment.

[Stonehenge]

Eddy had a policy that no khat seeds could be traded. We haven't formally adopted Eddy's rules. I did not offer to trade them if you will notice. If you want to debate a rule outlawing trading legal seeds or even mentioning them, fine. I'm open to a debate. Far as I know, this subject has not come up here.

[Cassie]

Can we be consistent and just stick to the simple rule as stated : no illegal activity ... therefore if seeds are legal its all good and if khat is legal where you are that's all good too.  We are an international forum and American legislation is only relevant to americans.  The site owner is Irish and the admins are from canada, new zealand, ireland and america.  It would help a bit if people would state their location in their profile so it shows in their posts.

[RifeHeretic]

Aye Aye, Cassie!

[Stonehenge]

I think how wording is used should be considered in deciding if it's for illegal activity or not. Poppy seeds are legal, you can buy them in grocery stores. It is not legal to grow them or extract. Should we ban the trade of poppy seeds when you can buy them at the corner store anywhere? San Pedro seeds are legal, you can grow them but not ingest them. Should we ban san pedro trades since it could be used illegally?

Khat seeds can be used for identification. They help define the species for people interested in botany. They like poppy seeds, pedro seeds, peruvianus seeds and many others, could be misused. It would all depend on what the person offered them for.

If they offer the seeds for a legit purpose, lets let them. If they say lets extract opium from the poppies after you grow them, lets not allow that. But if they offer the seeds for a legit purpose, there should be no problem. This just seems like common sense but what do the rest of you think?

[Pharmer]

I agree with Stonehenge.  It was obvious from his post that he did not intend to break the law or instruct others to do so.  The Poppy Seed analogy is a good one.  You can buy Papavar Somniferum seeds in packet from the nursery (not just the grocery store) with the intention that it should be grown, and you don't see these seed companies getting any scrutiny.  

Peace.

[brandondrums]

yeah but poppy flowers are legal if you dont pick the pods, where as the whole khat plant is illegal. but i agree on the fact that no one the police or the house next door would know what a khat plant is therefore you would not get into trouble..it just looks like a shrub growing by the house.. but the seeds for pot plants can by bought off the internet and that whole plant is illegal so i dont know.. ive seen khat seeds for sale on ebay and on a couple of different sites based out of usa..

[Pharmer]

That's not exactly the case Brandon.

From Erowid:

"Opium poppies are specifically scheduled under U.S. Law. The Controlled Substances Act, Schedule II, lists "Opium poppy and poppy straw" as well as .The law Poppies are specifically scheduled (under 'Mescaline' in the Federal Listing) as "Concentrate of poppy straw (the crude extract of poppy straw in either liquid, solid or powder form which contains the phenanthrene alkaloids of the opium poppy)".

There is some confusion in the law, however, because opium-producing poppies are widely grown around the US and Canada and the opium poppy seeds are omnipresent in cooking, breads, and deserts. The grey-blue poppy seeds sold in virtually every grocery store in the US contain low levels of opiates (not psychoactive levels). Poppy pods are widely used in dry flower arrangements.

Law enforcement in the US is somewhat schizophrenic about these plants, although there are continual attempts to try to stop them from being sold or grown. If poppies are grown as sources for opiates, there is no question that it violates the CSA. If poppies are purely grown for ornamental purposes, their legal position is somewhat less clear cut, since they are so widely grown and available."

Peace.

[Stonehenge]

Pot seeds are illegal in many countries and we've always banned them on SPF. There was a discussion about that not too long ago. That was settled far as I know.

[Avery L. Breath]

Please people, continue this discussion in the entheogen law forum.  This thread is closed.