Local traditions and culture in Dire Dawa Astedader

Not those conversations across the net. Chat here is a herb that is chewed and has some "narcotic" properties. It's a kind of "soft drug" very popular here. When I was arriving by bus, at the last bus stop before Harar there were already many sellers in the street. Most (and I mean at least 80%) of the passengers bought a bag of chat and kept chewing it all the way to Harar.
You can find it anywhere, it's like chewing gum. It reminded me somehow the COCA leaf you can find in Peru, socially accepted and even recomended for some therapeutical purposes.