Cathinones

[Raeanne Dimick]

Cathinone is an amphetamine-like stimulant derived from the plant Catha edulis (khat). The khat plant is a shrub grown in East Africa and on the Arabian peninsula. For centuries, people there have chewed the leaves for their mild stimulant effect. In those regions, chewing khat is often a social activity, similar to coffee drinking in other societies.
Recently, khat use has spread to other countries, and much stronger, man-made (synthetic) cathinones marketed as