Kava Kava: Seeking a New High?

Kava Kava: Seeking a New High?

For hundreds of years, the people of the Pacific Islands have been drinking a ceremonial tea called Kava. The ritual drink is used to foster strong kinship and to communicate with the spirits. Until recently, patterns of use were controlled by ritual, much like the Native Americans who use peyote for ceremonial rituals. Many in the Pacific Islands have been joined by teens in Europe and the United States, without the ritual limitations, to abuse drugs which leads to addiction and the negative affects of addictive behavior.

What is Kava?

Kava is a pepper plant and was named after Captain Cook who chose a name that meant “intoxicating pepper.” The stumps and roots of the plant are used to make a tea. The Kava plant contains a drug which acts as a narcotic, hypnotic, diuretic and muscle relaxant–though Kava is unrelated to morphine. Kava abuse does occur now that the ritual restrictions have been socially eliminated.

Kava abuse is drug abuse according to the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases “a pattern of psychoactive substance use that is causing damage to health.”

Other uses for Kava are:

• Sleep aids
• To fight fatigue
• To treat asthma
• To treat urinary infections
• As a numbing agent
• To treat anxiety

According to MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health, the relative effectiveness of Kava depends upon the extracts attributed to treating anxiety which reduces withdrawal symptoms of those taking sleep aids and benzodiazepines.  It also aids women going through menopause.

However, there are many claims that Kava can effect or prevent:

• Cancer
• Stress
• Epilepsy
• Tuberculosis
• Headaches
• Menstrual problems
• ADHD

There are serious concerns about liver damage for those who regularly drink kava or take it in pill form and as an additive in drinks (Western countries).

(Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/872.html)

The herb has been banned by Switzerland, Germany and Canada and in 2002 the FDA issued warning labels for Kava products.

Recreational Use of Kava

The potential harm from Kava to the body is of concern. People have died from liver damage directly related to the overuse of Kava. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a service of the National Institute of Health, has written that Kava has been associated with:

• Dystonia (abnormal muscle spasm)
• Scaly, yellowing skin
• Drowsiness