DA: Kava Tea May Impair Driving

H O N O L U L U, Jan. 2, 2001 -- There are no waiters or waitresses at Hale Noa,a quiet cafe northeast of Waikiki where an elixir known as awa isthe only brew served.

Owner Keoni Verity makes patrons belly up to the bar for bowlsof the earthy-tasting South Pacific drink. That way, he can see ifthey’re still walking straight after their third, fourth or fifthrefill.

“If they sit at a table and order many drinks without evergetting up, they sometimes don’t realize how the awa is affectingthem,” Verity said.

Prosecutors Worried About Kava’s EffectsThe herbal root, also called kava outside Hawaii, is billed as anatural treatment for anxiety and insomnia. But some prosecutorsthink it may be too relaxing — they’re concerned about peopledriving after drinking it.

“I have no concern at all if people are sitting in a bar or acafe and consuming kava to their hearts’ content as long as theydon’t place other people at risk by getting behind the wheel of acar,” said Jim Fox, the district attorney in California’s SanMateo County.

There, Fox’s office prosecuted a man accused of drinking 23 cupsof kava tea before driving, then weaving onto a highway shoulder.In December, a judge threw out the DUI case, citing lack ofevidence about the tea’s effects.

A similar case against a kava tea drinker from San Bruno endedin a mistrial in October after the jury deadlocked.

Natural Muscle RelaxantKava tea has long been used in South Pacific cultural andreligious ceremonies. Known as a natural alternative to musclerelaxants and anti-anxiety medicine, it’s lately been growing inpopularity along with other herbal supplements. And in Hawaii, awause is seen as part of a movement to revive native Hawaiiantraditions.

Kava has varying degrees of potency, and the tea is the biggestconcern. Kava tea is generally much more sedating than pills, Foxsaid. And Verity said a cup of kava tea at his bar is about fourtimes more potent than a typical store-bought kava tea bag.

“Awa in general relaxes and soothes and creates a mild sense ofeuphoria and expansion, and you can kind of see that in the waypeople slow down a little bit both in their movement and theirspeech,” Verity said. “People just generally get more mellow.”

Similar Effects to Alcohol Kava does have a sedating effect, especially in the raw form,and can affect drivers in ways similar to liquor, said KeithKamita, administrator of Hawaii’s Narcotics Enforcement Division.

Hawaii law doesn’t explicitly ban driving while under theinfluence of kava, Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor David Sandler said.

In most states, it is illegal to drive under the influence ofany intoxicating substance, Sandler said. California is one ofthem; Hawaii is not.

“If you abuse kava, it’s the same thing as abusing alcohol,”he said. “The difference is in Hawaii we can’t prosecute it.”

Sandler said he didn’t know of any specific cases of driversgetting into trouble after drinking kava. But he said it’s hard tomeasure the kava problem because police don’t test for the tea whenpulling over drivers.

Public Needs Education

Verity said the problem can be solved with public education andsound policies at kava-serving establishments. He said he does notserve anyone under age 20 and asks customers if they plan to drive.

“One of the first things we do is caution against driving,” hesaid.

Fox said he has endured a fair amount of ribbing for going afterkava drinkers for DUI, but he believes the law is on his side.

“Unfortunately, it may require that somebody’s actually killedbefore people become aware of the dangers of it, and that would bea tragedy,” he said.