Kava or kava-kava (Piper methysticus) is a shrub native to the South Pacific. The scientific name translates to the “intoxicating pepper.” The plant is packed with psychoactive alkaloids called kavalactones. There are six major kavalactones — kavain, methisticin, demethyoxyyanqonin, dihydrokavain, dihydromethisin and yaqonin, with different physiological effects.

Kava is part of ritual practice of the peoples of the South Pacific. Addiction has been observed in heavy kava drinkers. They suffer like heavy alcohol drinkers: general ill-health, skin rash, malnutrition, weight loss, elevated liver enzyme levels and possible liver damage. The kavalactones have been noted for their interaction with a wide range of liver enzymes meaning they will interact with many, many drugs. Don’t mix with alcohol and other drugs. Even Obamacare won’t save you from how much a new liver will cost. I know a good overseas hospital where you can get a deal on a cheap Thai liver, if you don’t die waiting first, so leave a comment if you need a hookup.

The major kavalactones have action at several different receptors. There has not been enough studies yet to determine exactly how the combination of molecules in kava root produce its anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, and paradoxical stimulating effects. Yangonin is a CB1 cannabinoid receptor agonist, like THC; dihydromethisin has analgesic, anticonvulsant and anti anxiety effects on animals; Desmethoxyyangonin is a reversible MAO-B inhibitor, like older antidepressants, and appears to raise dopamine levels helping increase attention; kavain attenuates our ion channels in our muscles causing muscle relaxation and it’s suspected to have action at norepinephrine and NMDA; dihydrokavain reduces anxiety in animals; and others may actually be carcinogenic. For safety’s sake I would place kava in the same category as alcohol. We know it’s bad for us, drinking too much will kill you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a PBR+well shot with friends tonight.

Drinking or eating kava-kava causes mild numbness of the tongue and throat. This is caused by kavain and dihydrokavain which cause local blood vessel contraction, acting as a topical anesthetic. Within 20 minutes, a subtle calm will wash over you. The strains of the day are melting away. The effects are similar to cannabis or alcohol. Considering the pharmacology of some of the major alkaloids that’s likely exactly how they’re operating, heading to the same receptors as their more well known brethren. There’s an visual delay, a fraction of a second where after turning, your eyes fail to align. It’s like being drunk. There may be some nausea, however some of it may be the anesthetic effects in the stomach.

At lighter doses, these effects are countered by a clarity of thought by the aforementioned action as norepinephrine. You’re cheerful, you’re relaxed, but you won’t be as stoned and pukey as when drinking and smoking. This is how to coast — stay with it, don’t drink, or if I can’t stop you, drink half the amount you normally would or less. We want to reduce the strain on your liver and the kava is enhancing your experiences.

With a heavy dose, you’ll develop very strong sedation. You can fight it but it ain’t exactly beating down your door. All you gotta do is baby kick off your shoes and lay down. Climb up here with kava and let’s drift off to sleep. Come lay down. What will follow is disputed. Literature reports a deep, dreamless sleep proportional to the dose, but I’ve experienced hours of lucid, vivid dreams. If you’re unused to lucid dreaming, welcome to the club. Even better, the next morning you’ll have good recall.

There are warnings via the NIH that kava is dangerous and has resulted in liver failure. That’s not inaccurate. In the early 2000s, it became popular in Europe. The natives only used the bottom part of the plant for their rituals. The clever growers sold the gullible white men as much as they wanted, top of the plant included. European firms bought the whole plant, ground it up, and sold it. The top part of the plant contains hepatotoxins, strong ones, that can quickly precipitate liver failure. Before you knew it, there was a wave of liver failures across the EU and the Germans banned it. After we figured this out, websites popped up selling only kava root.

Kava comes in many forms but the most common are the drinks made from ground up plant matter. Take me seriously, Kava drinks taste god awful. They’re bitter and are often gritty. Some of the kavalactones are not water soluble, meaning they won’t dissolve only in water, but they are fat soluble. The addition of oil, lecithin or milk helps add fat to the drink to extract more kavalactones.

There are a lot of recipes for boring kava drinks so here’s a recipe for a kava smoothie. Put ¼ cup ground kava root into a blender. Add ¼ cup of milk (full-fat or lactose free is alright we need fat and oil), and 1½ cup of pulp free orange juice. Blend for 2-5 minutes on high. Set a tall container capable of holding at least a quart or a liter of liquid along with a fine strainer with a coffee filter, cheesecloth, or even a thin white T-shirt. Pour slowly, letting the liquid drain. Use a spoon to push down the mix or if you’re using a cloth, your hands are fine, to get as much liquid out as possible. You can throw out the solid mass. Continue until you go through all the liquid, then put it back into the blender. Add a banana, ¼ cup of pineapple chunks and a few ice cubes. Your own bitterness tolerance may differ, so add some honey to taste. Now blend on high for 5 minutes until smooth.

There are kava extracts and pills, but those are still unclear. The pills seem like there is too little plant matter, and the extracts aren’t getting all the kavalactones. There are other options, commercially made kava anti-energy drinks, like imported Kava Cola or King Kava made in Brooklyn. There’s even a Hawaiian firm that sells orange flavored kava lozenges. They’re not as nasty as orange Suboxones, their flavor is quite tolerable, but the Kava bitterness is still there. Think of it this way — it’s native to some Polynesian cultures and no one is sure how it works, so it’s an avant-garde drug and you’ll get mad indie cred.

Have fun; try not to die.

Backdoor Pharmacist took:

25I-NBOMe, ambien, quaaludes, “molly,” mephedrone, kratom, benzos, smart drugs, more sleeping pills and “bath salts.” Backdoor Pharmacist does not want you to rot or OD.

Backdoor Pharmacist does not drink coffee.