Perhaps true in low dose, but lemme tellya, in Somalia and Yemen, I have personally seen how it totally zombifies large numbers of the population. Not to mention making them look like drooling somnolent fools, sleeping off the " mild antidepressant and very mild tranquilizer" in the gutter, with red ooze coming from their stained lips.
It is also very habit forming, if you deprive the Worthy Oriental Gentlemen of it, they get even nastier than their normal truculent selves.
Not a good import.
Khat is what the somali pirates use. The actually take it aboard the hijacked ships and consume it all day.