Khat leaves, which are widely abused as a stimulant, contain the alkaloid (−1)-cathinone. The effect of this compound on the flux of radioactivity from rabbit striatal tissue prelabelled with [ 3H] dopamine was examined. (−)-Cathinone enhanced the release of label, and was found to have a potency to that of (+)-amphetamine. The observation demonstrates that the khat alkaloid also has amphetamine-like effects at the cellular level.