Pubdate: Sun, 26 Nov 2000
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190
Fax: (408) 271-3792
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author: ANN E. MARIMOW

SAN MATEO NOT RELAXING ITS PROSECUTION OF KAVA TEA

Second Driving-Impairment Court Case Could Establish Beverage As Intoxicant

Six months ago, kavakava and its relaxing effects were as foreign to San 
Mateo County District Attorney Jim Fox as the small Pacific islands where 
this member of the pepper family of plants is typically grown.

But now Fox is convinced that kava's potential to impair drivers is worth 
his attention. Despite an initial setback, his office is preparing to 
prosecute its second kava case, this one involving a man who police say was 
driving erratically on Highway 101 after drinking tea made from the 
powdered root of the plant.

The district attorney dropped its first kava case this month after a 
deadlocked jury voted 10 to 2 in favor of acquitting the defendant. But 
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Holt will try again next month in a similar 
case against an East Palo Alto man accused of driving after drinking 23 
cups of kava.

Prosecutors believe the two cases are the first of their kind in California 
and among only a few to be tried nationwide. But that number is likely to 
rise because kava has become increasingly popular in the last 10 years.

With its reputation as a natural alternative to muscle relaxers and 
anti-anxiety medicine, kava capsules, tablets and liquid are now among the 
top-selling herbal remedies in the United States. Chiropractors are 
recommending kava for muscle spasms, and there are ongoing academic studies 
about its potential benefits to manage pain.

``I don't know any women in my office who don't take it for premenstrual 
cramps,'' said Natalie Koether, president of Pure World Botanicals in New 
Jersey, one of the largest importers of kava in the United States.

Sales of kava in food stores, drug stores and mass merchandisers from July 
1999 to July 2000 hit $15.8 million, according to Information Resources 
Inc. in Chicago. In most commercially produced kava supplements, the active 
compounds, known as kavalactones, are standardized at 20 percent to 30 
percent, but levels can vary widely. Recommended dosages vary as well.

Beyond commercial sales of kava, immigrants from Tonga, Fiji and Samoa also 
have brought with them their long-held tradition of drinking kava. After 
weekend church services, men typically gather for hours around a vat of 
kava to relax and chat with friends.

Despite the fears of some kava advocates, the District Attorney's office 
says it isn't interested in regulating kava. But prosecutors do want to 
raise the public's awareness about what they say is the beverage's 
potential to impair a person's ability to drive.

``I don't want prohibition,'' said Holt, who along with Fox has never tried 
kava. ``But it's like alcohol -- you drink enough of it, and you're not OK 
to drive.''

But defense attorneys have argued that it's unfair to prosecute people for 
driving after drinking kava because the California vehicle code doesn't 
specifically mention kava. They also say there's no evidence that kava 
affects the central nervous system.

``They're going through with a case that they should know is bogus,'' said 
Scott Ennis, who represented Taufui Piutau of San Bruno, the defendant in 
the first San Mateo County case.

That California law doesn't list kava doesn't matter, Holt said. The law 
makes it illegal to drive while impaired by any substance. Her office has 
prosecuted cases involving driving under the influence of the painkiller 
Vicadin and alcohol, another case involving insulin, and most recently a 
combination of depressants and anti-depressants.

The actual effects of kava depend on who's talking. Herbalists, experts and 
casual and regular kava consumers offer conflicting accounts of the effects 
of the beverage and whether it would impair a person's ability to drive.

At Palo Alto's Wesley United Methodist Church, the men in the Tongan 
congregation talk, sing and down small cups of kava for hours after 
services on Fridays and Sundays. On a typical Friday night, Tongan pastor 
Paini Afu estimates he drinks 20 cups of kava in two to three hours.

``It's not a problem for me,'' said Afu, 50, who started drinking kava in 
Tonga at age 17, and often drives back to his home near Santa Rosa after an 
evening of drinking the tea.

``The driving is OK for me,'' he added.

But Tomasi Vi, a Tongan pastor at the First Tongan Assembly of God in San 
Carlos, said he doesn't want to take any risks, so his congregation forgoes 
the kava klatches after services.

``It's a good thing if you just do a little, but if you do it in excess you 
get in trouble,'' Vi said. ``I don't encourage it.''

Chris Kilham, a researcher who has helped popularize kava in the United 
States, says that, like alcohol, kava's effects depend on the strength of 
the tea. A 12-ounce cup might relax a person for 20 to 30 minutes. But 
drinking kava for six or seven hours can relax a person people to the point 
where they are cross-eyed and can't walk straight. ``People do need to 
realize that the dosage can make a difference,'' Kilham said.

Nonetheless, the district attorney's office may still have a tough time 
making its case to a jury. Holt interviewed jurors after the first case who 
said they felt it was unfair that the defendant was being prosecuted for 
something he did culturally.

``It might take someone causing serious damage to themselves or someone 
else before people realize it's serious and not racially motivated,'' Holt said.
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