A new addiction

When Cameron McLeod drank his first half coconut shell of muddy brown earthy-smelling kava in 2002, he knew it would taste bad. “But it tasted way worse than I thought it was going to taste,” he said, with a laugh. However, “the effect was almost immediate. And really pleasant.” He’s since given up alcohol and instead drinks a few shells’ worth of kava “to take the edge off after a long day.” Since 2023, his business, Australia Kava Shop, has imported powdered Vanuatu kava and an aqueous extract of the Piper methysticum root to sell Down Under.

Men in Oceania have been drinking kava for centuries during ceremonial meetings and for social connection. It is a nonaddictive depressant, anxiolytic (anxiety reducer), and mild narcotic that leaves the user with a numb tongue and a cheerful attitude or, as one leading kava researcher described, “like being stoned in your body” but not inebriated.

Half of kava’s chemicals are psychoactive or mind-altering, and its use comes with serious warnings: Do not use when pregnant or lactating; do not operate a motor vehicle or heavy machinery after use; may cause drowsiness; avoid prolonged use; do not combine with caffeine, alcohol, drugs, or medications.

Despite those cautions, kava has become the West’s hot new alcohol alternative. More than 400 kava bars now dot the United States. For the sober-curious seeking natural, botanical, relaxation-inducing drinks, kava ticks all the boxes. Exports outside the Pacific islands have grown into a $2 billion industry. Demand for exports from Fiji have risen 300% since January. In 2021, Australia reversed its 14-year ban to woo kava-exporting Pacific islands away from China’s influence. Last year, Australia imported 147 metric tons. Kava’s global growth rate is around 16%. That helps McLeod’s bottom line.

But not everyone is excited about increased kava consumption. Politicians and the church have had a conflicted relationship with its use, from banning it to promoting it as an alcohol substitute to renewed attempts to curtail or ban it again.

Missionaries to the New Hebrides forbade new believers from using kava because of its association with pagan spirituality. But since Vanuatu’s independence from Britain and France in 1980, kava use has become more accepted as part of the island nation’s cultural identity. McLeod said that even though it’s not physically addictive, it creates a social addiction and can be used to excess.

In Fiji, early Methodist missionaries accepted the use of kava as a cultural bridge. “Kava is the protocol before the church service, to welcome the preacher that comes,” said Vika Lewavou, who grew up as a Methodist in Fiji. After the service, they “luva la necktie,” or untie the necktie, and drink kava together. Churches purchase a kava barrel and sell cupfuls as a fundraiser. Custom demands they drink the barrel’s entire contents.

Lewavou is now a member of the Assemblies of God denomination, which forbids kava use. But she still sees kava as a beautiful cultural gift from God, “just like any other good fruit that God has blessed us with. The sad part is it’s being overly used. It’s causing more chaos,” she said. People spend more time drinking kava and sleeping off its effects than planting cassava and catching fish to feed their families.

In January, the Rev. Semisi Tura­gavou, president of the Methodist Church in Fiji, warned pastors and lay leaders that excessive kava use could result in their suspension from church duties.

The use of kava has also spread to island nations where it doesn’t grow.

Ruth Cross Kwansing is the Minister for Women, Youth, Sport, and Social Affairs in Kiribati, a tiny island nation halfway between Hawaii and Australia. She describes Kiribati as a very socially connected, community-minded culture. Even though it’s not grown in the island nation, kava has become a part of the culture because it allows men in particular to hang out for hours in the evening chatting about everything and nothing, Kwansing said. Men’s health has plummeted as a result. Strokes are on the rise, as are liver issues, poor hydration, and sleep deprivation. “You cannot turn around and say, ‘This is specifically a result of kava,’ the way you can with tobacco use,” she said, but lifestyle choices that surround kava’s use seem to trigger more health issues—and have negative social effects.

Kwansing is a Mormon and says that group’s emphasis on health gives her a stronger stance on the issue, even though it’s not expressly forbidden. As social affairs minister, Kwansing oversaw an increase in social protection funds, a government welfare payment for disabled, elderly, and unemployed people. But her office noticed a corresponding increase in kava consumption and child neglect. “So you’ve got more money now, and that money isn’t being spent on your families. It’s actually being spent on kava,” Kwansing told me. This nation, with a population 202 times smaller than Australia’s, imported twice as much kava—280 metric tons—last year from Vanuatu alone. To add to the problem, kava’s soporific effects mean the men don’t get up early to provide for their families by cutting toddy (the sap from green coconut pods) and fishing.

The Minister of Health wants to propose a sin tax on kava, which would raise its price, Kwansing said, but an even bigger problem is that politicians use kava as a campaign tool. “When the government does a ministerial tour, we have to take kava with us, because you’re expecting people to come along and listen to you and see how the government’s been doing. But they’re also interested in the kava session that’s going to happen afterwards.”

Kwansing says she is only one of two politicians who has never given kava, though she has taken part in kava ceremonies on very special occasions. “I don’t see kava as a bad thing. It has traditional, ritual, and ceremonial aspects to it.” She likens it to a good wine. “Anything to excess that’s not good for you is obviously going to have detrimental repercussions,” she added.

Australia imports kava as a drug but allows it to be sold in the country as a food. U.S. regulators consider kava a dietary supplement. Figuring out when it crosses the line between a food and a drug could be the key to combating its abuse in countries now embracing it. Kwansing hopes her government will at least stop promoting its use. She plans to propose a bill to parliament in December that would prohibit politicians from buying kava for constituents.