Kava (Piper methysticum)
Kava Information
Piper methysticum is the botanical name of the plant more commonly known as kava. Other common names for kava include ava, awa, inebriating pepper, intoxicating pepper, kava kava, sakau, and yakona. The Piper genus is made up of at least 1000 species, maybe 2000 or more.
Piper methysticum is part of the Piperaceae family, more commonly known as the pepper family. Depending on the source, the Piperaceae family itself is made up of between 2500-3500 species and 5-24 genera. Besides Piper, the other major genus in the family is Peperomia.
The botanical name Piper methysticum is derived from Latin and Greek words. Piper is the Latin word for pepper, and methysticum is the Greek word meaning intoxicating. The name Piper methysticum can be translated into English as intoxicating pepper.
Scientific Classification Of Piper methysticum
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Piperales
Family: Piperaceae
Genus: Piper
Species: Piper methysticum
Piper methysticum is thought to have originated in Oceania (a region made up of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and various islands in the same area), but the exact location is not known.
Today, new kava plants are almost always started by taking cuttings (cloning, striking) off of living plants. When cultivated under the proper conditions, cuttings are fully grown and ready to harvest within 6 years. Most plant attain a height of 6-7 feet, but some may grow as tall as 15-16 feet.
Chemistry Of Kava
In the past, the psychoactive chemicals in kava were not very well known, recent studies have shown that a group of chemicals named kavalactones are the main psychoactive constituents of Piper methysticum.
So far, there are 15-25 different kavalactones that have been identified. Each of them have a different effect, and their concentrations vary in different parts of the same plant, and between the same part of different plants.
Different ratios of kavalactones will produce different effects. The leaves, stems, and root all contain psychoactive material. The psychoactive effect of ingesting either the leaves, stems, or root is similar, but most people find the root most potent.
Medical Uses Of Kava
Kava is used for many medical purposes. It is fairly effective at reducing anxiety and depression. It also has properties that might make it effective at helping people with social phobias. Kava can also be ingested as a medication to treat insomnia.
When a person consumes kava at moderate doses, the kavalactones produce effects that include feelings of euphoria, mental alertness, stimulation, talkativeness, and tranquillity. Moderate doses are suggested for people wishing to reduce anxiety and depression, or to help with social phobias.
Some pain sufferers find kava can reduce the amount of pain they feel. In some cases, this is due to the muscle relaxing effect of kava. In other cases, the state of well being produced by kava can aid a person in focusing their attention away from pain. At larger doses, kava causes most people to fall asleep.
Larger doses are best for people who suffer from insomnia, or for some other reason need to get some sleep. Vivid dreams are often reported by people who fall asleep while under the influence of low-moderate amounts of kava. Consumers who ingest larger doses usually say they do not dream.
Some compounds found in kava have been shown to reduce the formation and growth of cancer cells. Further research is being done, but there is a chance that these compounds may be tested in treating leukemia (cancer of the blood or bone marrow) and ovarian cancer in humans.
This does not mean that kava can be ingested to treat cancer. It only means that in the future, certain chemicals extracted from kava may be effective treatments for one or more types of cancer. More research is necessary.
How To Use Kava
You can buy kava obtained from organically grown plants here. They ship powdered kava root and raw plant material from the USA to most countries where kava is legal.
Powdered root can be packed into empty gelatin capsules and consumed with water. However, it is not recommended because it takes so much to produce worthwhile results. I've tried 7 grams and felt very little, so it would probably take 14-28 grams to produce satisfactory results.
The powder can also be added to marijuana, tobacco, or some kind of herb and smoked in a joint. It can be smoked in a pipe too, but the pipe has to have a screen that will prevent the fine powder from being drawn down the pipe stem before it is ignited.
Raw plant material comes from drying kava plants and breaking them up into small pieces, but not as fine as powder. It is the best choice when consuming kava. Powdered kava is usually sold as such, but raw plant material may be sold simply as kava or cut and sifted kava.
Kavalactones (the active ingredients) are alcohol soluble. If you are familiar with making tinctures, you will be able to extract a maximum amount by extracting them from raw plant material into alcohol. But most people will find water extraction to be a quicker and easier method.
Kavalactones are not water soluble, when performing water extraction, what you are trying to do is separate the fine powder (kavalactones) from plant material by filtering through some kind of fabric that will let water and fine powder pass, while blocking the larger plant material.
When working with raw plant material, the filter has to have fairly large holes, like cheesecloth or cloth tea bags. The amount of kava you consume will depend on your desired outcome.
Medical, recreational, shamanic, spiritual, or any application other than sleep, will require a small dose size. People who are taking kava to get sleep will require a larger amount. The exact amount of kava required will vary.
If you are able to extract a majority of the active ingredient into water, 1/2 ounce (14 grams) to 1 ounce (28 grams) of kava will be enough for a strong high without causing sleep. While 1 ounce (28 grams) to 2 ounces (56 grams) of kava will cause most people to sleep, within 30 minutes.
There are two ways to extract the active ingredients of kava into water. With the first method, you wrap the kava plant material loosely in some cheesecloth (or some other type of fabric with fairly large holes). Then you get a bowl and put enough room temperature water in the bowl to submerge the kava in the cheesecloth.
Don't put too much water in the bowl because you will have to drink it all. Now submerge the kava in the cheesecloth and massage it thoroughly. As you extract the powder, the water will start to turn brown. Use as much force as you can without ripping the fabric the kava is wrapped in.
Do this for 10-30 minutes, if you do it for a longer period you will extract more of the active ingredient. When finished, squeeze the remaining water out the cheesecloth and collect the water. The plant material can be thrown out, or the procedure can be repeated to extract more kavalactones.
The second method requires a blender, raw plant material, some kind of strainer (like cheesecloth), and water. With this method you put the kava in a blender and submerge it with room temperature water. Then turn the blender on high for about 5 minutes.
After the blending is finished, the water should be brownish in color. Strain the kava/water mixture through your filter and save the water portion. The solid plant material can be thrown out, or the procedure can be repeated to extract more kavalactones.
At this point (with either method) you will be left with kava that is ready to drink. The problem is, it doesn't taste very good the way it is. The best description is that it tastes like dirty water. You may be able to drink it the way it is, but you may wish to mask the flavor with fruit juice, herbs, or sweetener.
When consumed as a drink at low to moderate dose sizes, the first thing you will notice is a numbing sensation on the lips and tongue. The numbing is mild and not unpleasant to most people. Sometime after 15-30 minutes has elapsed, the user will feel a state of mild euphoria and tranquillity starting.
These feelings are accompanied by a slightly stimulating feeling, clear thinking, and a calm sense of being at peace. Even people who are not normally social may start to feel talkative at this point. This will continue for about 2-3 hours. Milder after effects may last another few hours, after the main effect wear off.
When consumed as a drink at large dose sizes, the effects are felt quicker but instead of feeling stimulating, there is a sleepy feeling. Deep sleep follows within 30 minutes. Sleep is almost always dreamless when large doses of kava are consumed. Larger amounts of kava produce longer periods of sleep.
People who like to smoke or in some other way consume cannabis (marijuana, hashish, hashsh oil) but feel either too much anxiety or paranoia, can try ingesting marijuana, hashish, or hashsh oil after they feel the kava start to hit. Besides the euphoria and well being produced by the kava, it will reduce or eliminate the marijuana anxiety or paranoia.
Kava can be smoked but rather than smoking it straight, mixing it with marijuana and smoking in a pipe is recommended. For some people, the combined high reduces or eliminates the anxious or paranoid feelings, usually associated with marijuana use.
The first time you smoke it, try mixing 1/4 gram of kava with 1/4 gram of marijuana. If you don't smoke marijuana regularly, wait about 15 minutes before smoking more, to see if the high is going to get stronger.
Kava and marijuana can be potent when smoked together, and too much can overpower the smoker who isn't a regular marijuana consumer. Kava can be smoked by itself, but it is more potent when combined with marijuana.
Like most herbs, kava must be kept away from light, or over time it will lose potency. If it has to be stored, try to keep it in an airtight, cool, dark environment.
Kava is considered to be non-addictive and safe for regular use, but there have been cases of liver damage in people that consume it. To minimize any chance of liver damage, don't do kava more than once a week. It is best to stay away from kava if you have any kind of liver problem.
Books Kava: The Pacific Elixir
Describes the history of kava use in Oceania over the last several centuries. Looks at such things as the economic, political, and religious impact kava has had on the area and its people.
Besides describing chemistry and how kava is ingested as a drug, the book also includes information about how it is used throughout Oceania for medical purposes, like as an anesthetic, analgesic, and diuretic.
Kava: The Pacific Elixir Psychedelics Encyclopedia
Draws from scientific research, personal accounts, and popular literature to document the properties attributed to psychedelic substances, their preparation and use, and the shifting social attitudes toward them over the past half-century.
Featured are the LSD family, marijuana, peyote, mescaline, mushrooms, MDA, yage, harmaline, ibogaine, DMT, DET, DPT, nootropics, and other psychoactive substances. Over 200 illustrations (black and white). Contains four pages of info about Kava.
Psychedelics Encyclopedia The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants:
Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications
Very nice book and considering the subject matter, it's easy to understand. The botany, history, distribution, cultivation, preparation and dosage of more than 400 psychoactive plants. Over 900 pages with hundreds of black and white illustrations and full color photographs.
Information about almost every plant that has been used for medical, spiritual, or recreational purposes. Includes all the common and most of the less common plant drugs. This is the most thorough plant drug encyclopedia available at the present time. Contains eight pages of Piper methysticum info with several color and black and white images.
The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants
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