Israel Police Identify Meth Sold as Khat Drops
Laboratory tests revealed that liquid marketed as a legal herbal extract was actually the synthetic stimulant methamphetamine.
By Jonathan Reed ·
Israeli police and the Health Ministry identified an illegal operation that sold methamphetamine under the name "khat drops." The announcement came on Sunday, detailing a scheme where a powerful synthetic drug was packaged to look like a mild herbal product.
Testing by laboratories confirmed the substance was methamphetamine, a drug also known as meth or speed. The police stated that marketing a dangerous drug under the guise of a supposedly natural product exposes the public to health risks, often without consumers realizing they are ingesting a dangerous drug.
The case highlights a specific legal gap regarding khat in Israel. The plant, scientifically known as Catha edulis, is legal to buy, sell, and consume when in its natural leaf form. However, any extract of the plant is entirely illegal. This means the product violated the law regardless of whether it contained actual khat or synthetic methamphetamine.
Authorities have not disclosed how they first suspected the dealers. They also did not specify where in Israel the product was being sold, the total scale of the operation, or whether any arrests were made. It remains unclear if the mislabeled substance caused any overdoses.
Khat is a flowering evergreen shrub native to East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is used in traditional settings across the Middle East for its stimulant-like effects, which speed up messages between the brain and the body. The US Drug Enforcement Administration compares the plant's effects to those of cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine.
Most users chew the buds and leaves of the plant. A small minority drink it brewed from dried leaves or smoke the dried leaves, according to the US National Institutes of Health. Methamphetamine, the drug found in the drops, is a lab-made stimulant with a high potential for addiction.
The police statement added that extracts and preparations containing substances derived from the khat plant are classified under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. The law prohibits the consumption, marketing, and production of these items, including drops, beverages, and capsules.
