Makaira’s Kava Kava Blog

Australia

Kava is legal to possess & sell in Australia, but it is illegal to import into Australia without a license, since it’s listed as a “Schedule IV” in the AU Import Regulations which outline all of the import laws.  Below is a comment about Australian Kava Law, by Torsten of Shaman Australis, from October of 2001, in which he clarifies what the law is:

“It was once given to Aborigines to help get them off alcohol. Some liked it a little too much and started getting health problems from it, so it was scheduled as a drug. We don’t have different levels of scheduling like the US, but we have provisions for licenses for any drug. It is very easy to get a kava license. The government just wants to be able to track volumes and trading sources. It is completely illegal in one state. Due to our multicultural make-up there are special provisions that you are allowed to carry 3 months supply on your person into the country. It is also freely available in Islander and Fiji shops. No problem getting it really, it’s just the wholesale is a bit dodgy.”

Britain/United Kingdom/U.K.

Britain has banned the sale of medicines that contain kava extracts, but the importation of it by individuals as an herbal supplement is still reportedly legal or at least accepted.  So, it seems that at least plain root powder is still legal for sale, but it’s unclear what the actual law is in relation to this.  See: Reuters, Dec 2002.

It also appears that kava is banned for import or sale for the purpose of ingestion (internal use): Statutory Instrument 2002 No.3170 : The Medicines for Human Use (Kava-kava) (prohibition) Order 2002 :The Stationery Office Ltd , UK Government E1856 12/02. Kava Ban Update

Canada

Health Canada, issued a stop order forbidding kava products sold for human consumption in Canada in August, 2002, but Kona Kava Farm has received EXPLICIT PERMISSION from Health Canada to export Kava Kava to Canada, as long as it’s to individuals who are using it for personal consumption, and NOT to any businesses.  This is VERY exciting news for us, and as long as you’re not a business, we are happy to send our entire line of products to our friends in chilly Canada from sunny Hawaii!

As of this ruling, all products containing kava including drinks, supplements, etc have been banned by Health Canada, but there is no specific law outlawing Kava herbal supplements in Canada.  More in our “KAVA (NOT) BANNED IN CANADA” article.

Also, in January of 2004, new natural health product regulations come into effect under the auspices of the Natural Health Products Directorate of Health Canada. Kava could then return to the market, provided the safety concerns can be mitigated through appropriate use of warning labels or other measures.

We’ve sold plain kava root to customers in Canada and have rarely had problems.  Soon, we will post our entire series of letters back and forth, ensuring that we do indeed have persmission to offer our entire line of Kava products to our neighbors to the North. 

Europe

Kava is widely available in Europe but some countries regulate its sale.  We don’t have a specific list, though, and have never had a problem shipping Kava to anywhere in Europe.

France

Kava supplements and products have reportedly been banned for sale, but we cannot find any supporting proof or evidence in relation to this, and have never had a problem shipping Kava to France.  Reportedly, Piper methysticum is still available from herbalists, which is exactly the same thing as Kava.

Germany

Germany is where the original Kava ban that sparked worldwide banning of Kava originated.  A study came out that associated kava root powder with liver damage, but the findings were falsely presented.  Some feel that pharmaceutical companies were behind the study in an effort to gain back the sales of Prozac, due to a higher and higher incidence of doctors prescribing Kava for anxiety instead of Prozac.

After it was discovered that the findings were false, that liver toxicity happens from Kava only when the widely-known poisonous leaves are used instead of the extremely safe roots, Germany moved to lift its ban.

The ban was finally lifted in mid-2007, and we’ve been shipping a LARGE amount of Kava orders to Germany without any trouble since then.

New Zealand

Kava-containing supplements sold throughout New Zealand, and we have also shipped to New Zealand without a single order being sent back to us.  We’re still waiting for more information.

Norway

Kava supplements and products are not specifically controlled in Norway, but we have been told that the national health council considers it a prescription drug (available only from a pharmacy) based on it’s use as a psychoactive drug.  This is yet another case where the legal status of Kava is unclear, and sometimes when we ship Kava to Norway (and Finland) it gets stopped, and other times it gets through without any problems.

Sweden

We have received conflicting reports about whether kava is available in Sweden. Some say that kava supplements and products banned for sale, while others say it is commonly available.

Switzerland

Kava is legal in Switzerland, but a pharmaceutical product called “Laitan”, which is a Kavalactone product that is sold in pharmacies across Europe, has been banned for sale in Switzerland.

At the start of 2002, prospects were bright for Hawai’i’s kava (’awa) producers. During the previous decade, the consumer base for kava had expanded beyond drinkers of the traditional water-based kava beverage to include the much larger nutritional supplement market. Kava capsules were prescribed in Europe to treat anxiety and insomnia.

By year’s end, the kava industry had collapsed. At least 68 suspected cases of kava-linked liver toxicity had been reported, including nine liver failures that resulted in six liver transplants and three deaths. Countries in Europe, Asia, and North America had banned the sale of all kava products. In the U.S., where the Federal Drug Administration issued warnings but did not institute a ban, supplement sales plummeted.

Kava growers, users, and researchers were perplexed. Pacific Islanders have used kava for at least two thousand years without liver damage.

Kava (Piper methysticum G. Forster) is a shrub that belongs to the same botanical family as black pepper. It is cultivated throughout the Pacific Islands, where its roots and underground stump tissues are pulverized and extracted with water to make a tongue-numbing, earth-flavored beverage that is consumed in ceremonies and at social functions. The water-based kava drink contains kavalactones, pharmacologically active compounds that relax muscles, ease nervous tension, and promote sleep. Outside the Pacific Islands, kava users typically consume the plant in capsules or tablets. Pharmaceutical companies extract the root powder with solvents to enrich the kavalactone content of these products and for standardization purposes.

Prof. Tang began research on kava in July 1999. He focused on questions of toxicity after the kava market crashed. A Fijian trader told him that in 2000 and 2001, a period during which the supply of kava roots was insufficient to meet demand, European pharmaceutical companies had purchased kava stem peelings (bark), considered a waste product by traditional kava users. This practice may have been widespread. By 1998, the first year in which reports proposed a link between kava and liver toxicity in German and Swiss supplement consumers, dried bark constituted 82% of U.S. kava imports. This bark probably included stem peelings in addition to stump tissues.

Stem peelings are rich in kavalactones, but contain other compounds as well. Twenty years before issues of kava toxicity emerged, kava stems and leaves were reported to contain the alkaloid pipermethystine. While investigating the chemicals present in leaves and peelings from the aboveground stem, Tang and Dragull discovered a problem with the analytical method commonly used on kava. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay for kavalactone concentration was unable to distinguish between pipermethystine and a kavalactone, yangonin. So, if stem peelings were extracted and concentrated to generate kava capsules, pharmaceutical companies relying on HPLC could confuse the contaminant pipermethystine for the desirable product yangonin.

Liver cell studies conducted by Prof. Pratibha Nerurkar (MBBE) suggest that alkaloid contamination may play a key role in the liver toxicity associated with kava. Pipermethystine has a strong negative effect on liver cell cultures. Kavalactones, on the other hand, have not been found to damage cultured liver cells. Profs. Tang and Nerurkar plan to investigate these toxicity issues further using rats as an animal model.

Prof. Tang and Mr. Dragull determined that gas chromatography is able to distinguish yangonin from pipermethystine, and confirmed the presence of pipermethystine in stem peelings. In addition, they and Mr. Yoshida purified and characterized two previously unknown kava alkaloids. Awaine, named after the Hawaiian word for kava, was found in varying concentrations in the unopened leaves of all eleven cultivars tested. An epoxy alkaloid similar to pipermethystine was present in stem peelings and leaves of the Isa cultivar. The ability of pipermethystine to form a relatively stable epoxide may be associated with its apparent toxicity to liver cells.

The UH researchers did not detect the three dangerous alkaloids in commercial kava root powders, and Prof. Tang believes that traditional kava beverage is not harmful.  (Kona Kava Farm has always used only roots for all of our Kava products, and part of the reason why, is exactly what this study shows.) The study recommends that consumers avoid kava products that may contain aerial tissues, including capsules, tablets, and kava leaf tea. Prof. Tang hopes that these research findings will help resuscitate the industry by leading to the repeal of national bans on products made from only kava roots and stumps.

Results of Kava kava ban

Crime, gambling and a black market trade in alcohol and marijuana are on the rise following the federal government’s ban on

kava kava, remote Northern Territory councils say. 

First introduced to Aboriginal communities in the 1980s as an alternative to alcohol, kava kava was officially outlawed as part of the government’s intervention.  But now, with existing kava kava supplies drying up, Yirrkala Community Council coordinator Adrian Rota said crime had increased in the dry Arnhem Land community.

“People who have drunk kava in the past are drinking alcohol, and it’s having a very different effect on them.  There are also people sniffing petrol now as well. It has just gone silly and the weekends are the worst.”

Mr Rota said the community, which ran out of the drink in September of 2007, had seen increased call-outs to police, who were unable to cope with the additional load.

“We’ve had a good deal more problems with alcohol related incidents and it should have been coordinated better, so more police on the ground to deal with the increases.  Alcohol has been far more of a problem than kava kava ever was.”

Susannah Kuzio, CEO of the alcohol-free Community Council in Arnhem Land, said kava users - who commonly experience mild euphoria and a sense of well-being were now finding alternatives for their money and time, and it is causing wisespread problems in a typically safe and peaceful community.

“Strangely enough, the thing we have really noticed more of is gambling,” she said.

Ms Kuzio said she “would chose kava any day” over alcohol.

“I have never seen spirits (bottles of whisky) in this community in the last 12 months that I’ve been here,” she said, “but now I have seen people drinking that I have never seen drink. Kava would be their first choice but now they are finding strong alcohol.”

Ms Kuzio was unable to say if she thought the grog had resulted in an increase of crime, but she did say there were noticeably more people fighting and not turning up for work.

Made from the crushed root of a pepper plant mixed with water, kava can cause weight loss, malnutrition, liver damage, hypertension and skin disorders when consumed in large quantities.

Despite all of this antedotal evidence piling up, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough repeated calls that the tranquillizing Pacific Islands substance was harmful and must go.

“Women and men (have been) comatose for long periods, not getting out of bed of a morning, not feeding their children, not sending them to school, not having a care about anything, because this substance has basically just messed with them so badly,” he said.

SUVA. Fiji (Fiji Times, Oct. 22) – European restrictions on Kava imports could be lifted  as early as December, says the chairman of the Fiji Kava Council, Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo.   He said the breakthrough was possible after  the World Health Organisation released a report supporting the position of Pacific island countries involved in the kava industry.

Ratu Josateki said the European and Australian markets had asked for the report to be reviewed, which had been done. He said the report would be again submitted to a stakeholders’ meeting that would be held next month in Berlin and Brussels.

“In this meeting we would be able to submit legal and scientific findings in support of our plea to lift the bans and trade restrictions currently in place throughout Europe,” Ratu Josateki said. “We are confident that this fight which had started in 2000, along with this reviewed report which has been supported by the WHO, would surely benefit our kava producers.”

Josataki said that since the ban was initiated by Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Pacific island producers have lost an estimated trade income of FJ$200 million [US$129 million] per year since the year 2000.

“This is a lot of money for small island states like us and for Fiji we were the major exporters of kava. Our farmers have suffered immensely as a result, 90 per cent of our kava farmers are indigenous people living in the villages across the country, who are dependant on kava income for their livelihood and sustenance,” Ratu Josateki said. “The Fiji government needs to support our initiative to open up the kava market in Europe because under the World Trade Organisation rules, kava will be treated as an infant industry and allowed to enjoy trade concessions,” he said.

He said Australia was also reviewing its ban on kava.

Fiji Times: http://www.fijitimes.com/
Excerpted from ©Fiji Times Online

Dana asked: I’ve heard a lot about this new “kavalovetone” which is supposed to be a replacement for the kavalactone liquigels that you’ve been out of stock on forever now.  Can you give me more information about them?  Have you received any customer reviews about them yet?

Makaira says: After many hours of research, utilizing a combination of science and alchemy to create an alternative for the 84% Kavalactone Liquigels that are not presently available, we came up with this exceptional product that uses 15 of the most pure extracts from some of the most relaxing botanical herbs available (with the exception of the opium poppy).

With more potency in our extensive testing than pure Kavlactones, this herbal combination produces an extremely pleasant repose that lasts much longer than expected. Our “Kavalovetone 84% Capsules” are a skillfully combined dried liquid macerate of Kavalactone and 15 other herbal extracts with a long history of use in social gatherings and religious rituals.  Concentrated and encapsulated to have the exact same effects as full spectrum Kava Kava drinks, but in a convenient, easy to swallow capsule, we feel these are deserving of the Kona Kava Farm name. Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Bill asked: Glad to see you have a blog because it shows that this company has a more human face to it, besides just information/products. I’m interested in buying Kava but you can’t find it in Canada. Will you guys ship to Canada?

Makaira says: Unfortunately, Canada has NOT lifted its restriction on Kava Kava products yet. This is curious, since Germany, who did the faulty study that resulted in many countries banning this amazing plant, repealed their ban on Kava in July of 2006. Canada has yet to make any moves whatsoever on lifting this ban, but we will of course let you know the moment we hear anything.

So, in answer to your question, NO, at this time, we do not ship any orders that contain Kava to Canada, sorry. - Aloha no, Makaira

Catherine asked: Probably because I am always looking for a quick fix I decided not to blend and strain as recommended, instead I spooned 2 heaped tablspoons into a class of water, mixed and drank quickly. Is this OK? Thank you for your time and your wonderful website.

Makaira says: We always eat the root with our kava drinks; it is full of good things for a body, and provides pure, essential fiber for the continued good health of a body. I don’t quite know what you’re referring to when you say a “quick fix”, but 2 heaping teaspoons of Kava into a glass of water sounds delicious to me. The only problem is that kavalactone extracts into fats, so you probably missed out on much of the experience by only mixing it with water.

We have a large number of recipes available on our website, but, if nothing else, you’re best bet if you’re in a hurry is to mix it with fruit juice, or even better; fruit juice with some lecithin, or best…with some coconut milk, blended into juice. Anything with “fat” content (even vegetarian fat, the good kind) will help extract the kavalactones (one of the many active components of kava kava) into the drink, and then into your system. Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Andrew asked: I was wondering what the difference between a stem and a rhizome is. From what I have read a rhizome is a sort of “underground stem.” The following statements are included in your website: “The most potent kava comes from first generation roots and rhizomes, so we are constantly rotating our plants and crops to ensure maximum potency.”  You also say this: “Please remember that the only time Kava Kava has been shown to be poisonous or cause liver damage is when the leaves and stems are consumed. This is why we use ROOTS ONLY in ALL of our Kava Kava products.”

Makaira says: The stem, as you suspected, exists ABOVE the ground, and has a very different chemical makeup than a root or rhizome that exists BELOW the ground. The sun is a powerful and magical force that can greatly alter the chemical structure of plants. For example, there are countless herbs that have poisonous flowers, but the rest of the plant can be made into a tea. It’s the same with Kava Kava; the rhizomes are no different than roots, except that they often exists laterally under the ground, connecting the various kava plants together. The rhizome is just a fancy name for a root, and we make note of the difference, just to be as clear with our customers as we can. I do hope that this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration describes kava, also known as kava kava or Piper methysticum, as a member of the pepper family that has traditionally been cultivated by Pacific Islanders for use as a social and ceremonial drink, which is traditionally either ground or chewed up and mixed with water or coconut milk.

South Pacific producers of kava were delighted at the publication of a World Health Organization report declaring kava to be a safe product (although they feel that it is one that should be available on prescriptions and not over the counter in an attempt to better monitor its use).

Fiji Kava Council chairman Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo said that as far as the kava industry in Fiji and the Pacific was concerned, this was a major breakthrough.

Here in Australia there was less welcome news. The Australian Government decided to ban the import of kava, apart from small quantities for personal use, as part of its campaign to stamp out child abuse in Aboriginal communities.

According to a statement by Health Minister Tony Abbott and Customs Minister David Johnston announcing the ban, “kava abuse has become an increasingly serious problem in indigenous communities over recent years with the health effects becoming more severe in communities where kava use is not traditional and where excessive consumption occurs.”

Kava was originally introduced to the NT back in the 1980s in an effort to limit alcohol abuse; as a kind of methadone for alcoholics, but it instead became used and then abused as supplement rather than a substitute, so many feel that Mr. Abbott’s desire to to ban it in the Territory is understandable, but a ban across Australia seems a bit excessive and irresponsible.

What is not certain is whether authorities have considered the consequences of their actions in other parts of Australia where the use of kava instead of alcohol is prevalent among islander communities, and has actually reduced domestic violence, car crashes, and a series of other accidents caused by over-consumption and abuse of alcohol.  There are many people in urban Australia who would feel happier meeting a kava happy islander in the street rather than an intoxicated one, but many now fear that all of the gains in recent years will now be lost, right on the heels of the World Health Organization’s announcement.

South Pacific producers of kava were delighted this week at the publication of a World Health Organization report declaring kava to be a safe product, although they feel that it should be available by prescription, rather than simple over the counter herbal supplement, in an effort to better monitor its use in both the United States and abroad.

The chairman of the Fiji Kava Council Ratu Josateki Nawalowalo, who has long been battling the powers that be, in an attempt to get kava recognized for the safe and effective herbal supplement with 3,000 years of safe use, said that as far as the kava industry in Fiji and the Pacific was concerned, and a major breakthrough.

The particiapnts of a conference, which was debating about whether or not kava bans should be lifted in places like Germany, decied that the bans were based on insufficient and inconclusive investigation. As a result, a three person WHO Committee was appointed to look at the safety and efficacy of kava. One of the members of the Committee is a Univeristy of the South Pacific staff member (Professor Sotheeswaran). The USP has been at the forefront of analyzing scientific data on kava to look at its efficacy and safety, and in a public seminar, Professor Sotheeswaran questioned the ban on kava products and provided evidence that kava was indeed safe.

The German Health Authorities have agreed that the kava ban was indeed based on insufficient and inconclusive investigation and have partially lifted the ban on kava products in Germany.  This is amazing news for Germany and the kava industry.

Exporters of kava in the Pacific Islands have been instructed to aware that only the correct kava varieties should be exported when the German buyers are ready to buy them again.  Quality control laboratories in Fiji and Europe have begun working on better analytical procedure to ensure that the kava varieties sold do not contain any unhealthy organic compounds which may cause health problems to the consumers.

Furthermore, manufacturers are also modifying their extraction processes so that kava pills and extracts contain the active constituents of kava roots and nothing toxic.

Mike asked: Your kava is definitely the best I have tasted of the five or six kinds I have had.  It is also the second most potent kind that I have had (I had some Mo’i kava which, although more potent, was much more difficult to drink).  Anyway, the first time I bought kava from you, I was very surprised with how finely ground it was.  I put it in my strainer the way that I did with kava in the past but nearly all of it ended up in the water. 

I drank it anyway and found it good aside from when I got to the end of the bowl and it was powdery.  I just added some more water and was able to drink it.  I think with it finely ground like that and consuming nearly all of it, the potency was increased.  Besides that, I am lazy and not having to strain it (I just stopped using the strainer) was definitely a convenience. 

The second time I ordered some, the kava from the third bag was a little less fine.  Drinking it without straining is more difficult. 

My question is, is this an anomaly or are you reducing the fineness of your kava for now on?

Makaira says: We have gone back and forth on the fineness of our kava powder.  At first, we offered shredded roots, but it was difficult to get a potent drink from it, and it was difficult on blenders!  Then, we tried tea-cut, which is the one bag that you got, but still, our customers wanted it finer.  So, we ended up with the powder we have now.

We may switch back and forth from time to time, but we will always offer both if we decide to do that.  85% of our customers prefer the present powder fineness that we have now, so we plan to stick with that for a long time. 

You are correct in saying that the finer the powder, the moe potent the drink, and the less kava wasted.  The only downside, is that the drink may be a little more "chalky" , but this is a small price to pay for the wonderfully pleasant effects of kava.  Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Anaki asked: Would you please publish somthing in print, so I could present this to some of my medical associates for their clients? Do you suggest that only those with computer access can have access to your products?

Makaira says: We have a print catalog completed and available for anyone who desires one. Simply email us your request, and we will send one off to you right away.  We also have a downloadable PDF that contains our product line and product codes that you can send to us as well (although it’s not nearly as pretty and informative as our catalog.

It is available via links on our website, or you can get it from:

http://www.konakavafarm.com/KKF-Catalog.pdf

We also have a Quick Mailer that combines an order form and an envelope available at:

http://www.konakavafarm.com/KKF-QuickMailer.pdf 

If you call us at our Toll Free number, we are also more than happy to send you out a copy of either, as well as our catalog, to save you from having to print it on your own printer. - Aloha no, Makaira

Michael Claisse asked: How much kava extract should I use in one coffee cup to feel the full effects and how many cups should I drink? The bottle says that there are 25 active mg of Kavalactones in one serving, and says one serving is 10-20 drops.

Makaira says: One serving, in accordance with FDA guidelines, is 1 dropperful, into one glass of whatever you are drinking. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but we can’t offer anything past that, and can only, unfortunately, by law, offer what we have been instructed by the FDA to offer. So, as we tell everyone who asks: It’s open to personal experimentation. Find what works best for you, and always remember to use any herbal product responsibly.

Personally, we don’t feel any effects whatsoever from a single dropperful, and would never advise anyone to take more than the recommended dosage, but with our long history and higher tolerance for Kava, we put half of the 1oz bottle in each of our drinks. But that is far above the FDA recommended amount, so we would discourage such actions. - Aloha no, Makaira

Misha asked: Hi, I have just learned about kava tonight and I am really interested in taking it. I’m 21 and have heard and seen just too many negatives about alcohol. So I’m lookin’ to try something else. I was wondering what I should buy (powder, chai mix, etc.) to start with, and which would last me the longest because I don’t want to keep re-buying it every week. The 1 pound bag of powder at 2-4 tbs per cup of juice sounds like it will last many nights. What do you think?

Makaira says: This is a difficult question to answer, since every single person and body can be so different from another, and every body will react differently to different kava products.  For me, when there is no fresh root available, my favorite combination is 6 tablespoons (I can’t advise using this much though due to the new FDA regualtions) mixed with a pea-sized amount of kavalactone paste.  This gives my drink the extra kick it needs, and both the freshly powdered root and the kavalactone paste last me a long time.

But you need to see what works best for you, and which taste you prefer.  Kava’s effects last about 45 minutes, but, you are able to take a “booster” drink in 45 minutes, which will continue your pleasant and relaxed feelings throughout the ceremony (or evening).  Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Rick Wolf asked: How come I have seen pictures from two different people claiming to sell 84% kavalactone liquigels that look exactly like the ones i just received from you? They are exactly the same, the color of the gel capsule varies from yellow to milky in the picture from the wholesaler just like the ones I recieved from you. Do you sell your product to wholesalers? How come their kava pills looked exactly like the ones I received from you?

Makaira says: We are probably not the only ones in the world who sell kavalactone liquigels, and since the product contained within the liquigels is an extract from the kava plant, any product made in a similar manner will most-likely have a similar look. I cannot vouch for anyone else’s product, but we do not holdany kind of patent on the actual process of encapsulating the liquigels, but I know that we are one of the few who produce them, becuase most manufacturers do not want the sticky mess that comes with the manufacture of this wonderful product. We DO wholesale to other sellers, but not as a private label kava product; we only wholesale it with our company name on it. Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Mr. Owoo asked: Where may I buy Kava crushed leaves to smoke? - I heard that you can feel similar effects from that as drinking kava kava.

Makaira says: We do not sell the leaves becuase there is some research indicating that they may be poisonous to humans. Our leaves are simply ground up, and returned to the soil to help give our Kava Kava plants the required nutrients they need to continue to flourish year after year. What is the need for smoking, when there are so many forms of Kava available, such as liquigels, powders, pastes, and pure powdered root for extracting into a traditional beverage? Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Philippe asked: I recently ordered some of your kava, and i noticed that on the package it says” 90% underground root, and 10% lateral roots.” i read on other sites and yours that the lateral roots are the most potent part of the plant, is their a mistake on the package? - Please clarify for me if you would be so kind.

Makaira says: So sorry about the confusion, Philippe! - That is simply a mistake in the labeling on some of the packages. To preserve our plants, so that they can produce the sweetest and most potent kava for years, we protect the underground roots, and harvest only 10% of the underground roots with each harvest. When we take 90% lateral roots, it still preserves the plant, so that it can re-foliate over and over again. We never use a single stem or a single leaf in any of our products; making kava out of the stems and the leaves is not a good idea, as the leaves can be poisonous. – Aloha no, Makaira

Jon asked: I’ve heard you you can extract the kava root with nail polish remover instead of water and it has no negative effect on the kava. Because the nail polish remover evaporates a lot faster than water this would lesson the time you have to wait for preparing a pure solid/paste form of kava, and the only thing you have to differently is, after the paste seems to have dried it just mix it up and let it air out to make sure you get all of the nail polish remover out.

Makaira says: Wow, just when we thought we heard it all! - Since we advocate the most natural use of this plant that we hold so dear, it has never occurred to us to speed the extraction process along, or to introduce a dangerous chemical such as nail polish remover into the mix. Most nail polish removers are made from acetone, but not all of them, and none are meant to be near anything that we intend to consume. Since nail polish remover typically uses petroleum-based products as a main ingredient, there is no way to know what you might be introducing into your body. Furthermore, non-purified, non-food grade acetone often contains all kinds of nasty petroleum products such as benzene, which is extremely toxic to the human body, and has been shown conclusively to cause cancer in humans.

Also, kava isn’t just Kavalactone; it’s a synergy of many different plant elements. Some extract into fats, such as coconut milk, and others extract into water, such as other active alkaloids from the plant. To use a single chemical, not only can be hazardous to your health, especially when it’s something like nail polish remover, but you are cheating yourself and your body on the full spectrum extract of this plant. “Awa is not about speed and chemicals; it’s about kicking back, relaxing, and enjoying something that is conducive to long ceremonies and friendship. – Aloha no, Makaira

Ed asked: I tried Kava (30ml liquid drops) for insomnia and got quite the opposite effect. I layed in bed for an hour or so. Earlier that day, I took Claratin, which seems to wire me, so maybe that’s the reason.  So, my questions are as follows:  Should I give it time? - Should I take more? - Or should I try another type such as a liquigel?

Makaira says: The Claritin could be the culprit; we have heard of many instances of folks taking a prescription medication that makes them “wired” and then trying to take kava capsules or kava tincture to offset the effects, but it never seems to work. Although kava relaxes almost everyone who consumes it, there is a small percentage of people who it has the opposite effect on. For example, when I consume “just enough”, I get a pleasant sense of well-being and a nice, relaxed sensation.

BUT, if I consume TOO MUCH of the wondrous root, i get a little nervous and anxious instead, which is not good if I am trying to get to sleep! I know myself and my tolerance quite well, though, and this rarely happens.

So, we are not doctors and cannot give medical advice, but as with any product, herbal or otherwise, it is up to you to experiment with what works best for your temperament and body type. To make it a fair test, you probably want to try it on a day when you have not taken any other medication. You might have a low tolerance for kava capsules or kava tincture and there is a chance you may want to start off with a smaller dosage. But this can only come with trying it for yourself and seeing what works best for you.  Hope this helps! - Aloha no, Makaira

Keith asked: Hi I was just wondering if i can make up large batches of the dried root and either refrigerate or freeze it if so how long will it remain effective? It would be great if i can make up say a weeks supply at one time as it will save a great deal of time and cleanup.

Makaira says: Yes, you can make up large batches of extractions and refrigerate it for use later. (We have never experimented with freezing the root, so I can’t answer that question for you, sorry.) But, on far more than one occasion, we have kept water-based extractions of kava root for several weeks in the back corner of the fridge (it is not an easy task to have an extraction sit for that long without wanting to enjoy it!), and the only thing that happens is that the oil starts to separate from the water. This is harmless, and it simply requires a stir or two. Since kavalactone (the active ingredient in the extraction) has a shelf life of 2 years, you can rest assured that your extraction will not lose potency over that minute amount of time. Much joy to you! - Aloha no, Makaira