Archive | khat

United States v. Abdulle, No. 06-3647-cr (2d Cir. April 22, 2009) (Newman, Sotomayor, Katzmann, CJJ)

Defendant Mohamed was convicted of distributing cathinone, the active ingredient in khat leaves, and challenged the sufficiency of the evidence against him. The circuit affirmed.

The difficulty, as always in khat cases, is the complex regulatory scheme for this substance. See Krazy Khat, posted September 27, 2008. Khat itself is not a controlled substance. Cathinone, the stimulant present in the leaves when it is first harvested is a Schedule I controlled substance; cathine, the substance that cathinone turns into after a few days, is a Schedule IV controlled substance and is not always illegal.

Mohamed was specifically charged with trafficking in the Schedule I substance. Thus, the government was required to prove that he knew that he possessed and intended to deal in a controlled substance, and that he in fact possessed cathinone. His sufficiency …

United States v. Hassan, No. 05-6949-cr (2d Cir. September 19, 2008) (Calabresi, Pooler, Sotomayor, CJJ)

Defendant Hassan was convicted of three conspiracy counts – (1) importation of a controlled substance (2) distribution of a controlled substance, and (3) money laundering – along with forty-one substantive money laundering counts, in connection with his importation of khat into the United States. On appeal, the circuit reversed the substantive money laundering counts due to insufficient evidence, and remanded the remaining counts for a new trial because of a seriously flawed jury instruction.

Background

Khat is the common name for the leaf of a plant that grows in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. When ingested, it produces a mild stimulant effect. Khat is subject to a unique and truly bizarre regulatory scheme. While khat itself is not a controlled substance, the stimulants sometimes present in the leaves are. When first harvested, khat often …