Kava Licenses Restricted in Australia

Drink for Personal and Medicinal Purposes

Drinking Kava is a long-standing tradition is the Pacific Islands. Chewed in its root form, then mixed with water and strained, tradtional Kava is used as medicine, as a religious drink, a political tool and a social beverage throughout the Pacific, but its powerful effects have led to bans or strict regulations in other parts of the world.

Down in the sleepy little town of Adelaide, South Australia, there's an inconspicuous shop called The Kava Hut that's been running for 6 years nestled between a laundromat and a nightclub.

It's a laid-back bar in the central business district, with a few old sofas, guitars, bongos, board games and some sand on the floor out back. The kind of place where everyone knows your name.

There is, however, a key difference; they do not serve alcohol.

What they do serve is a ceremonial drink called Kava, a brownish watery liquid comprised of ground-up roots of the Kava plant. It's an unusual tasting beverage; somewhat bitter by itself, it leaves an odd numbing effect on the tongue. The taste is an acquired one, however the effects are very relaxing and can be similar to those of a mild sedative. It's mellowing enough that it's recommended for those with anxiety. It's a chill-out drink which, traditionally, is consumed socially.

Before you order Kava for the first time, you're presented with generic warning which the owner assures you they have to show. The warning says to use Kava in moderation, that it may cause drowsiness and that the sale and distribution of Kava in Australia is subject to the national code of Kava management. You also have to be over 18 to purchase it and it shouldn't be consumed by pregnant women.

In June it was announced on the radio that: "Due to the crackdown on child sexual abuse and substance abuse in remote Indigenous communities, all Kava importation licences have been revoked." This came as a shock to the owner of the Kava Hut, who had heard of the ban only two days after it had come into effect.

History of Kava

Kava has a rocky history dating back some 20 years in Australia. In the early 1980s, Kava was introduced to Indigenous communities in the hopes that it would challenge alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, it became another abused substance. In the mid-1990s, Kava became a "prohibited botanical" and a black market emerged worth an estimated $8 million in 1997. To combat this, in 1998 the Kava management code was created, allowing government monitoring of Kava and licences which could be applied for.

In 2002, there was a fatality following a Kava-containing medicine, and this resulted in a voluntary removal of all Kava-containing medicine from the marketplace.

The Theraputic Goods Administration (TGA) had been closely following international concerns over deaths associated with medicines containing Kava and liver failure. However, the TGA's fact sheet notes that "The forms of Kava used traditionally by Pacific Islanders and by some aboriginal communities are not believed to be associated with the serious forms of liver damage."

There are some exceptions to the importation ban though: Medical/scientific use is fine, and two kilos can be brought back into Australia for personal use.

The politics around this move on Kava are up for speculation really, but nobody would disagree that it is in response to the Little Children are Sacred report, a report commissioned in 2006 for the protection of Aboriginal children from sexual abuse, which, amongst many other things, details drug abuse as a contributing factor.

However, of the four times Kava is mentioned in the report, it has been in relation to the cost of purchase (equated to $100 for a small bag), which would not have been from a licenced source. There are no recommendations within the report which specifically mention Kava; in fact, cannabis use is recommended to be the main focus of a multi-faceted approach.

The Kava Hut has started a petition and a letter writing campaign to re-institute licences for non-medicinal/scientific purposes and support is growing by the day.