Pubdate: Fri, 16 May 2003
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2003 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Jessie Seyfer

PENINSULA KAVA-DRINKING CASE TESTS STATE DUI LAWS

question of whether kava, used in a popular drink in many Pacific Islander 
cultures, can be considered a dangerous drug has surfaced again in a San 
Mateo County court.

On Wednesday, a jury deadlocked in the case of a Tongan native and kava 
drinker from Menlo Park who was pulled over for suspected drunken driving, 
leading to a mistrial.

Prosecutors have until June 18 to decide whether to seek another trial, 
drop the charge, or seek a plea agreement.

Kalisi Finau, 60, was arrested March 17, 2002, and admitted to drinking 
about 10 cups of kava at his church earlier that night, according to his 
attorney, Mara Feiger.

Finau had no alcohol or conventional drugs in his system, Feiger said. Yet 
prosecutors believed that his drinking kava seriously impaired his ability 
to drive his car safely.

Kava is made from the root of a tropical pepper plant. The root is dried, 
then pounded into powder and strained through a cloth while being mixed 
with water. Kava is popular in the Fijian, Samoan and Tongan communities, 
and is consumed for its relaxing effects, often in social settings.

"Kava is a known central nervous system depressant," said San Mateo County 
Deputy District Attorney Peter Lynch.

"It is not as commonly seen as alcohol, but its effects can be, with the 
right amount of ingestion, just as impairing," he said. "If you can't 
operate a motor vehicle safely, there's nothing in the law that gives you 
the right to hurl a 3,000-pound vehicle down the road."

This isn't the first time kava has been at the center of a suspected DUI 
case in San Mateo County.

In 2000, a 26-year-old Arizona man who had not been consuming alcohol was 
accused of driving under the influence after drinking 23 cups of kava. One 
judge dismissed the charge because California law has not identified kava 
as a drug; a panel of San Mateo county judges then reinstated the case. 
Sione Olive ended up pleading guilty to reckless driving.

Earlier in 2000, county prosecutors decided to drop a similar DUI case 
against another kava drinker after a jury deadlocked.

In the latest case, the San Mateo County sheriff's deputy who pulled Finau 
over about 3 a.m. on March 17 of last year testified in court that Finau 
made a dangerous U-turn on Woodside Road, and that Finau failed several 
field sobriety tests, Feiger said.

Finau said he drank kava that night, but didn't feel any effects at the 
time he was pulled over, Feiger said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom