Yatta Member of Parliament Charles Kilonzo has said the miraa trade should be banned across the county.
Speaking at Kithimani, Kilonzo outlined the side effects of using miraa, among them possible infertility, oral cancer and psychological problems.
The legislator lamented that most youths and school children have become slaves to the addictive drug hence the county government should impose a ban of its trade and use across Machakos.
“Youths are tomorrow’s hope but it is sad that most of them are already addicted to miraa and its associated products,” he said.
Those selling the product are destroying tomorrow’s generation, Kilonzo said.
“Overlook the turnover khat attracts. Miraa and its associated products are drugs and their effects on consumers have been proved and are very negative,” the legislator said.
Kilonzo appealed to the government to accept that miraa is a drug that should be banned. It amazed him when miraa farmers were awarded money by the national government, he said.
“Miraa is a drug just like cocaine, bhang, heroine among other human life- threatening drugs and should be banned,” the lawmaker said.
The Ministry of Heath categorized miraa as a psychoactive drug classifying it alongside cocaine in 2017.
The United Nations says khat poses a great danger to human heath in 2017 on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
