Opponents of khat use the rhetoric of the "war on drugs," casting miraa in with other outlawed drugs. The "war-on-drugs" rhetoric is countered by those who label the use of miraa as a tradition in Kenya, as "cool," and as an "economic miracle" for those who profit from its cultivation and trade. Describing miraa as "traditional" can gloss over negative aspects of its consumption and production, and describing miraa as a "drug" can gloss over its more positive aspects. Miraa chewers often note differences between consuming miraa and using other substances. They suggest that the social importance of miraa-chewing sessions illustrate this difference. Miraa consumers do not seek an intense "high," but rather a relaxed and pleasurable social gathering with fellow chewers. This claim is supported by the fact that a miraa chewer would have to chew a lot of even the strongest varieties of miraa before coming even close to the types of effects associated with snorting amphetamine or cocaine. Cathinone, miraa's main constituent, has been calculated to be "about half as potent as amphetamine" (Zaghloul, Abdalla, El Gammal, and Moselhy, 2003). Like all debates, however, recognition of valid points by those on the other side of the debate are obstructed by the polarizing intensity of the respective arguments. The debate on Kenya's policy toward miraa is likely to continue for years to come. 29 notes and 54 references