Somaliland:UK Home Office Sends Congratulatory Letter to Anti-Khat campaigner
London, Aug 7, 2013 (SDN) —The letter below has been sent by Home Secretary to Anti-Khat campaigner Mr. Ahmed Abdi Isse for efforts to ban Khat consumption which has destroyed the lives of Somalis and continues to feature prominently among the health and social harms, such as low attainment and family breakdowns.
The British government recently announced that it will ban khat in the UK under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 against the advice of the official government run Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
Below is the letter Addressed to Mr. Ahmed Abdi Isse .
Direct Communications Unit
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF Tel: 020 7035 4848
Fax: 020 7035 4745
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
isseahmed@hotmail.com
Mr Ahmed Abdi Isse
Reference: T8821/13 5 August 2013
Dear Mr Isse,
Thank you for your e-mail of 8 July to the Home Secretary about the Government’s policy on khat. As I am sure you will appreciate, the Home Secretary receives a great deal of correspondence and is unable to reply to each e-mail individually. Your e-mail has been passed to the Direct Communications Unit and I have been asked to reply on her behalf.
Thank you for your support on the Government’s recent decision to bring khat under control. The Home Secretary made clear that the control of khat is an essential step in helping to protect vulnerable members of our communities, as well as sending a strong message to our international partners and khat smugglers, that the UK is serious about stopping illegal trafficking. The Home Secretary’s letter to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) providing further detail can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-acmd-on-control-of-khat.
The Government plans to take the legislation to control khat through Parliament in the autumn. It is expected that this process will take a few months to be completed before khat is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
The Home Secretary is also supportive of the other recommendations made in the ACMD’s report relating to community-based interventions and multi-agency approaches to address the wider community issues. She is consulting the relevant departments on these recommendations, in line with the Government’s wider objectives on reducing the demand and misuse of drugs, set out in the 2010 Drug Strategy ‘Reducing demand, restricting supply, building recovery: supporting people to live a drug-free life’ available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-strategy-2010–2.
A full response to the ACMD’s recommendations will be published in due course at:
www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-drugs-misuse-and-dependence/activity
Yours sincerely,
J Jones
E-mail: Public.Enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Click the link below to view Mr. Ahmed congratulatory letter to the Home Secretary for her decisive decision to ban Khat
http://www.caynabanews.com/view.php?id=29563