The UK government's official drugs advisory body has rejected calls to ban the herbal stimulant khat.
"The number of families who are breaking down due to khat is beyond your imagination, " he said.
It said khat provided a "mild stimulant effect much less potent than stimulant drugs, such as amphetamine".
Somali groups in the UK had told the council that use of khat was a "significant social problem".
The Dutch government cited health concerns as well as social and economic reasons for the prohibition of khat.
He says there was no clear medical evidence that khat is harmful and believes a ban could be counter-productive.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said there was "insufficient evidence" that khat caused health problems.
Khat is traditionally used by members of the Somali, Yemeni and Ethiopian communities.
They gesture excitedly as they trade hundreds of dollars daily for the khat.
After years of lobbying, Swedish MEP Olle Schmidt admits he was pleasantly surprised by the Dutch move to ban khat.
Cathinone, one of the psychoactive agents in khat leaves, is highly unstable and loses its potency within three days of harvesting.
Abukar Awale, who organised the demonstration, is himself a former khat addict.
Tory spokesman for social cohesion, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, believes that advice and education about khat is simply not enough to tackle the problem.
However, it continues to keep an eye on the matter, with plans to improve understanding of khat misuse and the impact on communities.
The British government has commissioned a new review of khat use - the date of its publication is still to be confirmed.
He believes that his farmers, have to make a living somehow and growing khat has been forced on them by unjust international trade laws.
"The economy of the population here where khat is grown will be totally crippled and people will have no source of income, " he adds.
They added that the social impact of khat has kept men away from work and led to the disintegration of families and local communities.
The one factor they all have in common is excessive khat use, which leads us to believe there is huge evidence of medical harm.
But in 2008 Baroness Warsi wrote an article in the Guardian promising to make khat an illegal drug if the Conservatives came into power.
He also says that other payments were flown from Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, into Somalia on cargo planes transporting the stimulant, khat.
The council's vice-chairman, Dr Hew Mathewson, said he gave "no credence" to links between the khat trade and the funding of al-Shabaab, the Somali-based cell of al-Qaeda.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, is refusing to clamp down on the growth of khat in his country despite fears for the health of those using it.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, khat can induce manic behaviors, hyperactivity and hallucinations while chronic abuse can result in symptoms such as physical exhaustion, violence and suicidal depression.
But ACMD chairman Professor Les Iversen said the review "found insufficient evidence of either health or societal harms caused by the use of khat to justify its control in the UK".
The market square is a scene of total chaos as you make your way through bustling crowds preoccupied with the business of bartering for a prized commodity - the green leafed plant khat.
It reported that "the extent of khat use in the UK is relatively low" and that the evidence of harm resulting from khat use is "insufficient, relative to those drugs that are under control".
But traders say a ban would not mean an end to khat in the UK as, according to them, smuggled khat is still widely available in Europe and the US, although it is more expensive.
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