Beyond Africa and the War on Drugs: reassessing drug markets research and policy

This article reassesses the book Africa and the War on Drugs (2012) and a related special journal issue (2016) in the light of drug market and policy developments since 2012. As part of this reassessment, we question some of the assumptions made in the book and special issue. More specifically, the article first outlines the key arguments of the book and the special issue and then sketches some of the key drug market developments on the continent since. Third, it discusses the major unchanged problem with drug markets in Africa, i.e. the lack of data. We end by considering the major difference since 2012: a new and lively debate about drugs and drugs policy in many African countries, which this special issue is arguably also part of. We argue that these new debates about drugs are welcome, yet they continue to exclude the voices of the ones most affected by drugs: market insiders, such as drug users, traders and cultivators

Khat in the Western Indian Ocean

Cet article présente le qât (khat), phénomène de la culture de l’océan Indien qu’on doit comprendre dans une perspective historique, et en même temps lié à l’actualité. L’histoire du qât soulève en effet des questions d’importance contemporaine : sa popularité croissante, les ressources économiques qu’il procure aux agriculteurs et aux commerçants, une signification culturelle qui en fait un marqueur d’identité, et enfin le mépris, la suspicion et/ou l’intolérance auxquels il est en butte en tant que « drogue ». Dans cet article, nous mettons en lumière les similitudes et les différences concernant ces questions dans la région de l’océan Indien occidental, en considérant en particulier Madagascar et le Kenya. Nous montrons que certains faits rapprochent les expériences du qât à travers toute la région de l’océan Indien (et s’étendent même aux groupes de migrants venus de ces pays dans le monde entier), y compris des questions d’intérêt mondial comme la lutte contre les drogues, la peur du terrorisme islamiste, et la domination du modèle de développement occidental. Pourtant, les histoires personnelles des usagers, les questions de société et les expressions culturelles contemporaines, dessinent aussi des différences significatives.The paper introduces khat as an Indian Ocean phenomenon, understandable only in historical perspective, and yet utterly contemporary. Its history frames contemporary issues: its rising popularity; the economic relief it brings farmers and traders; cultural significance as an identity marker; disdain, suspicion, and/or intolerance of it as a ‘drug.’ In this paper we explore regional linkages and disjunctures regarding these issues, examining khat use in the western Indian Ocean, especially in Madagascar and Kenya. We argue that certain global concerns link experiences of khat throughout the Indian Ocean region (and extend to expatriate communities from these countries throughout the world). These include global issues of the war on drugs, fear of Islamic terrorism, and the hegemony of the western economic development model. Individual histories of use, contemporary concerns, and contemporary cultural expressions also distinguish these experiences from each other in significant ways

Entrust we must:The role of 'trust' in Somali economic life

"Trust" is a concept that has received much attention in studies of informal economies which operate in large part outside of formal state regulation. Somali trade provides a pertinent case. In Somalia, across Somali East Africa and beyond, business has thrived, in spite of - or, some would argue, partially because of - the statelessness of the homeland. Beyond scholarly uses, "trust" is also a concept used by Somalis themselves to explain their entrepreneurial success. This Working Paper asks what the concept of "trust" reveals and conceals about Somali economic life, examining the concept in both its etic and emic uses. It does so drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Eastleigh, an estate in Nairobi's Eastlands, whose economy is, in many ways, exemplarily "informal", and driven by Somali enterprise and capital investments. We argue that while the concept of "trust" can help explain the social relations underpinning trade, and in particular the provision of credit, trust is not a prerequisite for acts of trusting in business. Rather, acts of trusting can themselves work to produce trust, even though they do not eliminate deceit and mistrust in the estate. Trust in its emic usage emerges as a normative rather than descriptive discourse that creates a moral impetus for acts of trusting, even as "trusters" may not necessarily fully trust those they do business with. In Eastleigh, an important driver of this discourse is the demand for credit, which itself plays a crucial role in driving the estate's economy

Quasilegality : Khat, Cannabis and Africa’s Drug Laws

This article explores the concept of ‘quasilegality’ in relation to two of Africa’s drug crops: khat and cannabis. It argues that the concept is useful in understanding the two substances and their ambiguous relation to the statute books: khat being of varied and ever-changing legal status yet often treated with suspicion even where legal, while cannabis is illegal everywhere in Africa yet often seems de facto legal. The article argues that such quasilegality is socially significant and productive, raising the value of such crops for farmers and traders, but also allowing states to police or not police these substances as their interests and instincts dictate. It also argues that there is no clear link between the law on the statute book and the actual harm potential of these substances. Finally, it suggests that the concept has much wider use beyond these case studies of drugs in Africa in a world where global consensus on drug policy is cracking, and where many other objects of trade and activities find themselves in the blurred territory of the quasilegal

Business as usual? Cannabis legalisation and agrarian change in Zimbabwe

This article examines the emerging legal cannabis sector in Zimbabwe since 2018, which focuses on medicinal and industrial cannabis with unlicenced uses remaining criminalised, as well as its implications for agrarian change. It shows that the formal sector is set up in a way that prioritises those with substantial resources – marginalising small-scale farmers and illicit cultivators. While this presents the risk of corporate capture, various factors combine to undermine agribusiness' production. However, prohibition of recreational cannabis and the formal sector’s focus on export markets combine to preserve illicit cannabis markets and allow continuation of illicit livelihoods

Business as usual? Cannabis legalisation and agrarian change in Zimbabwe

This article examines the emerging legal cannabis sector in Zimbabwe since 2018, which focuses on medicinal and industrial cannabis with unlicenced uses remaining criminalised, as well as its implications for agrarian change. It shows that the formal sector is set up in a way that prioritises those with substantial resources – marginalising small-scale farmers and illicit cultivators. While this presents the risk of corporate capture, various factors combine to undermine agribusiness' production. However, prohibition of recreational cannabis and the formal sector’s focus on export markets combine to preserve illicit cannabis markets and allow continuation of illicit livelihoods

Allogeneic endometrial regenerative cells: An "Off the shelf solution" for critical limb ischemia?

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is an advanced form of peripheral artery disease which is responsible for approximately 100,000 amputations per year in the US. Trials to date have reported clinical improvement and reduced need for amputation in CLI patients receiving autologous bone marrow or mobilized peripheral blood stem cells for stimulation of angiogenesis. While such treatments are currently entering Phase III trials, practical and scientific pitfalls will limit widespread implementation if efficacy is proven. Hurdles to be overcome include: a) reduced angiogenic potential of autologous cells in aged patients with cardiovascular risk factors; b) invasiveness/adverse effects of bone marrow extraction and G-CSF mobilization, respectively; and c) need for on-site cellular manipulation. The Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC) is a mesenchymal-like stem cell derived from the menstrual blood that is believed to be associated with endometrial angiogenesis. We discuss the possibility of using allogeneic ERCs as an "off the shelf" treatment for CLI based on the following properties: a) High levels of growth factors and matrix metalloprotease production; b) Ability to inhibits inflammatory responses and lack of immunogenicity; and c) Expandability to great quantities without loss of differentiation ability or karyotypic abnormalities