Kenyan khat farmers have threatened violent action against the British government following its decision to ban the stimulant.
FG Machuma, who says he represents the Miraa tribe, told Sky News the decision to make the plant a class C drug was a "declaration of war".
He added: "If they don't listen to us ... they have a military base in Nanyuki ... and they will have to leave.
"If they don't leave peacefully then we will take arms and deal with them in Kenya."
In the UK, khat is popular among some members of Somali and Yemeni communities.
The latest figures from 2011-2012 put the plant's UK value at £13.8m.
Users chew the leaves then swallow the juice, which contains an ingredient similar to amphetamine.
After a few hours, users become talkative and experience feelings of alertness, euphoria and excitement.
But symptoms can include depression, lack of concentration and psychosis.
The majority of British trade comes from the town of Meru in Kenya.
It provides a source of income for around 500,000 farmers belonging to the Miraa tribe, who say the ban threatens their livelihood.
Home Secretary Theresa May defied the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to push through the ban, which was approved by the House of Lords on May 12.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Drug misuse has a serious impact on society and the ban on khat will help protect vulnerable members of our community.
"It will also prevent the UK from becoming a single regional hub for criminals trying to make a profit, as countries across Europe have already implemented the same ban.
"Parliament has now approved the government's decision and khat will become a class C drug on June 24, 2014."
Users of the plant claim they are being unfairly targeted.
Mahamud Ahmed Mohamad - who owns the UK's largest khat warehouse in west London - insists that chewing khat is a Somali tradition.
He told Sky News: "It's like closing a pub ... will you feel happy if you close British pubs?
"Why don't you close alcohol which is affecting a lot of people? Why is it only khat that is a major issue?"
He currently employs around 40 workers and says they will be made redundant once the ban is implemented.
Mr Mohamad is challenging the ban in the Court of Appeal.
Abukar Awale, a former user, insists the substance is addictive and psychologically damaging.
The anti-khat activist blames his former habit for a violent confrontation during which he was stabbed.
"Availability of khat and the legality of khat was attracting more young people," he said. "By banning it we are preventing young people from failing in society."
UPDATE: Angry Kenyan farmers growing the stimulant khat, a crop branded a drug and banned by Britain, demanded Monday that British army training bases and British-owned farms be shut down in retaliation for the ban.
Khat -- called miraa in Kenya, a multi-million dollar (pound / euro) export business -- is the leaves and shoots of the shrub Catha edulis, which are chewed to obtain a mild stimulant effect.
"We do not see why we should live side by side with our enemies ... with people who are conspiring to punish Kenyans," said Kimathi Munjuri, spokesman for the Nyambene Miraa Trade Association, one of the key growing regions for the bushy herb, in northeastern Kenya.
Last week, Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May classified khat as a drug, effectively closing Kenya's last khat market in Europe, after the Netherlands banned the stimulant in January.
Britain, the former colonial ruler, still sends troops to train in northern Kenya.
Large tracts of land are also owned or farmed by British nationals.
"The British have training bases in the middle of miraa-growing regions," Munjuri added. "They own land among us and now we will adopt stands to make them feel our importance."
Britain's ban was made despite findings from government experts that there was insufficient evidence khat is harmful.
Khat farmers say they export up to 60 tonnes of khat to London each week.
Locally, a kilogramme of the plant goes for around eight dollars (five pounds, six euros), a trade estimated to be worth up to $24 million (16 million pounds, 18 million euros) a year.
"A ban will cripple the economy of the area," said Florence Kajuju, a lawmaker for the khat-growing constituency of Tigania East, adding that the ban would impact thousands of families.
There has been no official Kenyan reaction.
Although khat is grown across the Horn of Africa region as well as in Yemen largely for domestic and regional use, much of Kenya's crop is cultivated for export, with the main growing area around the Meru region.
Khat bushes can take up to four years to mature and large-scale farms have been running for decades.
While grown in fertile highlands where other crops such as maize and potatoes also do well, khat is preferred for its relatively high profit margins.
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