The state owned Ethiopian Postal Service (EPS) is going to launch three different kinds of Khat Memorial Stamps valued at 0.45, 0.55 and three birr next week on September 9, 2008.

The stamps that features Khat leafs( Narcotic Drugs) would be put on market all day long on September 9, 2008, from 2:00 am through 6:00 pm local time.
The launching of the stamp would be also marked by a research paper from the Addis Ababa University.

After neglecting the product for years, the Ethiopian government is giving more attention to Khat but no official agricultural policy exists to support Khat production and farmers.
Khat, ranking 4th among Ethiopian export items, is now attracting farmers from all corners of Ethiopia and remains the chief crop in east and west Hararge. Ethiopian Khat is in high demand in Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen and England, with a significant amount also consumed locally.

Khat is widely used in the country, and more than 40 percent of the youth in Addis Ababa frequently use the drug, according to a research conducted by undergraduate students at the Addis Ababa University.
At the international level, the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Dependence-producing Drugs’ Fourteenth Report noted, “The Committee was pleased to note the resolution of the Economic and Social Council with respect to Khat, confirming the view that the abuse of this substance is a regional problem and may best be controlled at that level.” For this reason, Khat was not scheduled under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. In 1980 the World Health Organization classified Khat as a drug of abuse that can produce mild to moderate psychological dependence.

According to some historical documents, the origins of Khat are disputed. Some believe that it is Ethiopian in origin, from where it spread to the hillsides of East Africa and Yemen. Others believe that Khat originated in Yemen before spreading to Ethiopia and nearby countries. Sir Richard Burton in his book entitled ‘First Footsteps in East Africa’ explains that Khat was introduced to the Yemen from Ethiopia in the 15th century. There is also evidence to suggest this may have occurred as early as the 13th century.

From Ethiopia and Yemen the trees spread to Kenya, Somalia, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Arabia, the Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa. The ancient Egyptians considered the Khat plant a ‘divine food’ which was capable of releasing humanity’s divinity. The Egyptians used the plant for more than its stimulating effects. They used it as a metamorphic process and transcended into ‘apotheosis’, intending to make the user god-like.

Established on March 1894 by Emperor Menilik who assigned Swiss citizen Alfered Ilg as manager for a postal services administration, EPS is currently a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) as an autonomous body under proclamation 240/1966 and is currently under the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC). According to one study, even though historical references show that the postal service is as other services in the modern world, development has been slothful. “The total number of private boxes is not more than 49,000. Prior to 1993 a private box used to serve 1133 people. Now the ratio is 1: 525 people,” the study discloses.