In addition to the Dutch, the British recently banned Miraa consumption. This might sound ridiculous, but there's a relationship between the fate of the Miraa exports to the EU market, and the last elections.
Right from the outset, it wasn't in the best geopolitical interest for the Meru region to go Jubilee, given that the product depends on diplomatic goodwill- yet it was with near accuracy predicted that Kenya's foreign relations with the EU would be in tatters in a Jubilee Government.
And this is disturbing because Miraa death would obliterate the thriving economy of the land of Jackson Angaine and Adams Karauri. The Miraa is unfortunately, the first casualty in a strategy called "slow bleed doctrine" where it appears a template is in place to bleed Kenya slowly- plant by plant.
By the time those in denial get to know it, "the economy would be in ICU" like the 90s. The Miraa plant, otherwise known as Catha edulis or Khat is a gem, whose market potential, hasn't been fully harnessed.
Part of Miraa money has to be ploughed back into research and development for it to survive bad international press. It's thriving and acceptance at the international stage depends on its perception by the policy makers of the destination's country.
It has to be positioned using the Brand Kenya budget as a "mild" drug that is less psychosocially and medically impactful than say alcohol and marijuana/Bhang.
The burden of proof of Miraa benefits side lies with availing authoritative journal published literature out there justifying the benefits of Miraa. The hand of US tobacco industry has sometimes been suspected in research journal articles published in the National Institute of Health that justify better pregnancy outcomes in smoking women with pregnancy complications like pre-eclampsia. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855389/ Its ban is purely a function of international politics laced as Public Health interventions.
Kenya's leadership as presently constituted is, and I won't tire to say this, "internationally politically incorrect". This ban was enforced against the advice of UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs against Miraa's control under the UK's Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Which means Science isn't part of this equation. This makes the odds, highly diplomatic. A plant caught in a diplomatic crossfire. And of course, Khat's key consumers in the EU are immigrants, like Somalis, Ethiopians, and Yemenis who reside in the EU.
It's always been a "privilege" for them to enjoy the product in a foreign land while there's actually a scientific basis to "say it is a drug". And so an anti-Miraa ban bodes well with the anti-immigration politics in these countries.
The Huffington Post of UK recently highlighted the entanglement of Miraa dollars with financing international Terror activities. Also, recent NACADA's rhetoric simply removed the moral burden from the shoulders of the British whose intentions to ban Miraa haven't been a secret for some time now; without any evidence based research to back it up.
Miraa is also not subjected to the rigors of the European Good Agricultural Practices, that's required of Horticultural products and so even its hygienic safety remains questionable in the quality paranoid west.
And even though it was within their democratic right, this ban is undeservedly a hit below the belt of a core constituency of the Jubilee coalition that voted for Uhuru almost to a man in total disregard of the intricate interconnectedness of Miraa business with Kenya's foreign policy.
After badmouthing the European Union, one wonders how the Jubilee Coalition honchos are supposed to go ahead and humble themselves before the EU and the British leadership to request for the lifting of the Miraa ban.
That's what caring leaders are called to do for their electorate. Swallowing their ego and pleading with the British for the sake of an electorate that put their key source of livelihood on the line in 2013.
And you never know, this ban might be a stunt to force Kenya to the negotiating table. And unless Uhuru doesn't care, he should be willing to cut deals to save an entire tribe from economic annihilation and extinction.
However, given the Jubilee diplomatic conundrum wrought by the ICC genocide accusations, it's going to be a tough call for Kenya to be engaged by the UK, that's one way- skewed in favor of Kenya while burdening the EU with healthcare safety ascertainment costs and terror risks.
Saving the Meru economy requires the allocation of funds to help the Ameru people transition to new crops, and/or also invest in research intended towards the diversification of the Miraa product beyond chewing.
Exploring the medicinal effects of Miraa would be one such step. I know some pain killers have stimulants like caffeine in them only intended to counteract the somnolence side effect they cause.
Miraa consumers are known to rely on the plant to stay awake and the active ingredients in miraa could as well be explored by scholars at Chiromo towards counteracting the sleepy side effects of certain drugs.
Meruland is bequeathed with fertile soils and if the transition to the post-Miraa economic dispensation is well planned and executed, they will adapt well by transitioning to Crops like tea, horticulture, tissue culture banana and dairy farming. The Ameru ought to be counseled that there's life after Miraa.
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