Yemen's government, residents coping with fallout of khat addiction.(The Dallas Morning News)

Byline: Jim Landers

HAMDAN, Yemen _ Brothers Abdullah and Yahia Al-Atia, each holding a teaching degree, are young men with young families launching careers as drug dealers.

The Al-Atia family grows khat. It is a slight, silvery tree whose budding leaves contain the euphoria-inducing stimulant cathinone. Chew enough khat leaves, and the cathinone hits the central nervous system much like an amphetamine.

Khat, in other words, is nature's version of speed.

"It's a good living, thanks be to God," said Abdullah Al-Atia.

Both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration regard khat as a dangerous drug. It is grown mainly in East Africa and in Yemen, where its cultivation and widespread use are raising environmental, health and social concerns.

The Al-Atia brothers spend their afternoons in a cinderblock watchtower overlooking their khat trees. They chew the crop, drink water and tea, smoke cigarettes and point automatic rifles out the windows.