Review Of The Misuse Of Kava Among Indigenous People

Indigenous Australians experience a significant, disproportionate burden of ill-health when compared with non-Indigenous Australians. This is evidenced in the higher rates of disease and injury in the Indigenous population and their substantially lower life expectancy. The factors contributing to the poor health status of Indigenous Australians are extensive and complex, and reflect events involving dispossession, alienation, and segregation. Despite the multiplicity of factors responsible for the sub-standard health status of Indigenous people, substance use and abuse is one factor that has been identified as having a detrimental impact on poor health. A considerable body of research exists highlighting the deleterious impact of alcohol on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people, but much less attention has been directed to the impact of kava.

Kava is a psychoactive substance used predominantly by Indigenous people in the Northern Territory, particularly Arnhem Land communities. Much controversy has surrounded the use of kava by Indigenous Australians due to the surfacing of reports detailing the health and social effects of prolonged consumption and the apparent lack of kava-related cultural norms in Indigenous communities in Australia to constrain consumption. By way of generating a greater understanding on the impact of kava on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people, this paper will review the recent literature. Given the integral role of policy in minimising the use of drugs, an important focus of this review will include the legislative restrictions imposed in Australia on the use and importation of kava.

This review will begin by summarising kava in terms of its chemistry, traditional use, and preparation practices. This will be followed by an examination of kava use in the Indigenous Australian population, including its health and social effects. The history of kava legislation in Australia will then be discussed, and the implications of current kava policy addressed.

Tags: Australia  Kava  ethnobotany  health