Drug info - Kava-Kava Banned in EU?

[0utrider]

Hi im wondering if theres a country in the EU which didnt ban Kava / where it is still legal to buy? most US based vendors dont ship to the EU (especially germany) since they had many problems with customs..

[Bajeda]

It is banned in the Netherlands. I think it may also be banned in Germany, though I thought it was a precription only drug before. They may have further increased restrictions on it there.

Kava is a controlled substance in Norway and Finland but I do not think it is illegal to procure.

Need to check on this though.

[wOrship]

The list below is the best I can find right now, it was stolen, lock stock from Erowid, so I am not taking responsibility for any inaccuracies! I am sure if swiy was to google legal status + country of interest, swiy would find the info very easily.

Swim is English, but currently living in Wales (UK), the Welsh equivalent of a parliament fairly recently overturned the kava ban, so although it is still banned in England and Scotland it is fine here.
Swim orders mainly root material, but will occasionally order paste/pills depending on his needs, swim supposes all his orders have to go through English customs en route due to most likely entry into UK being one of Londons airports, but has never had a problem importing even clearly labeled kava, in any form.

Australia #
Kava is legal to possess & sell in Australia, but it is illegal to import into Australia without a license, it is "Schedule IV" in the import laws: AU Import Regulations.

Comment about Australian Kava Law
"It was once given to Aboriginees to help get them off alcohol. Some liked it a little too much and started getting health problems from it, so it was scheduled as a drug. We don't have different levels of scheduling like the US, but we have provisions for licenses for any drug. It is very easy to get a kava license. The government just wants to be able to track volumes and trading sources. It is completely illegal in one state. Due to our multicultural make-up there are special provisions that you are allowed to carry 3 months supply on your person into the country. It is also freely available in Islander and Fiji shops. No problem getting it really, it's just the wholesale is a bit dodgy."

Britain #
Britain has banned the sale all medicines containing kava extracts. We believe raw root powder is still legal for sale, but we aren't sure. (May 2003). See: Reuters, Dec 2002. It is not currently illegal to possess kava extracts in Britain.
It also appears that kava is now banned for import or sale for the purpose of ingestion (internal use): Statutory Instrument 2002 No.3170 : The Medicines for Human Use (Kava-kava) (prohibition) Order 2002 :The Stationery Office Ltd , UK Government E1856 12/02. CropWatch.org Kava Ban Update

Canada #
Canada's federal government agency, Health Canada, issued a stop order blocking the sales of kava products for human consumption in all of canada in August, 2002. As of this ruling, all products containing kava including drinks, supplements, etc have been banned in Canada. Health Canada

Europe #
Kava is widely available in Europe but some countries regulate its sale.

Ethiopia #
Kava products available with no age limit. unverified

France #
Kava supplements and products banned for sale (Seeking Reference). Reportedly, Piper methysticum is still available from herbalists.

Germany #
After a handful of deaths have been reported from kava-related liver failure, Germany is considering legislation to more tightly regulate its sale.

Kava-Kava: Zulassung beschränkt

Die Zulassung des pflanzlichen Beruhigungsmittels Kava-Kava soll eingeschränkt werden. Nach Bekanntwerden von 18 Fällen von Lebervergiftung, von denen einer tödlich endete und drei Transplantationen erforderlich machten, soll das Anti-Stress-Medikament künftig nur noch in extrem verdünnter Mischung erhältlich sein."

English: Loosely translated this means that Germany wants to tighten regulations regarding kava after 18 cases of liver poisoning. One of them died and three had to undergo liver transplantation. Kava products will have to be sold in much more diluted form.

(Reference)

Netherlands #
Kava-containing products have been banned for general sale since jan 01 2003. [unconfirmed, thanks JS]

New Zealand #
Kava-containing supplements sold at grocery stores. [unconfirmed, thanks Starky1]

Norway #
Kava supplements and products are not specifically controlled in Norway, but we have been told that the national health council considers it a prescription drug (available only from a pharmacy) based on it's use as a psychoactive drug. (Seeking Reference or links).

Sweden #
We have received conflicting reports about whether kava is available in Sweden. Some say that kava supplements and products banned for sale, while others say it is commonly available. Seeking Reference.

Switzerland #
Laitan, a kavalactone pharmaceutical sold in pharmacies in Europe has been banned for sale in Switzerland.

Hope this helps

Reputation Comments on this post:

good list

[0utrider]

yeah thanks for the list

so SWIY is living in wales? do you know any vendors from there who sell kava? are they actually any vendors?
SWIM is living in germany and he want to order kava, its just that everyhting from overseas is getting stuck in customs and so he thinks that due to the alomst not-existing customs in the EU he would be able to order it from inside the EU without having to fear any issues.
I know, i'd easily get the info if i typ "country +blablabla" in google, its just that i dont really wanna try everysingle european country. if someone of you guys knows a place inner europe where kava is legal and sold, please let me know

[wOrship]

Sorry, swim is unaware of any Welsh vendors, he purchases from the US, some will just mark the package as "incenses" which would make importation easier for swiy, but swim obviously doesn't know the legal situation in Germany regarding any penalties that may be imposed on swiy if the package is opened at customs.

[Benga]

Kava was also banned in France a few years ago.

[Thirdedge]

Man, Kava must be the mildest and safest drug to be Prohibited in so many places. Swim can confirm the unconfirmed statement above re: NZ, yes, it surely is available in most any supermarket.

[0utrider]

well there arent really any "penatlies", its just a minor felony or rather not even a real felony. its just that the package won't arrive and if that happens a few times they might start a lawsuit against you. but not the first time. either way, SWIM is not gonna take the risk, especially because of the money.
SWIM is aware that labeling it as incense or as a product of which soap is made of would make it "legal" but customs do whatever they wont, if the officer has a good day he might just not do anyhting, if he has a bad day he might as well label it as a drug, which it certainly not is. either way it'll cause trouble but won't result in any legal trouble.
SWIM is looking for countries in europe where kava is sold. if its legal to ship to wales, wouldn't it be a good way to sell it inner europe via ebay?

[wOrship]

Originally Posted by outriderx

SWIM is looking for countries in europe where kava is sold. if its legal to ship to wales, wouldn't it be a good way to sell it inner europe via ebay?

Hmm, not really something swim would personally be interested in getting into - too much potential hassle for not enough potential gain, besides I thought eBay banned the sale of ethnobotanicals ages ago.

[0utrider]

nah it didnt.. only if its obviously for abuse of it. SWIM is getting all his kratom from ebay (netherlands and germany) cuz its waaaay cheaper than from all vendors. the same with salvia and other stuff..
the thing is that SWIM has withdrawal symptoms from opioid abuse and he tried kava to reduce them and it works really (!!) well. way better than kratom, since kratom always reminds him of the "real thing" and he is like to switch from one substance to another.

[0utrider]

SWIm just wanted to let SWIYs know that there is a way to get it without having to fear customs from outta-EU imports. its legal in the UK for non-consumption purposes, f.e. making soaps or incense. so if one wants to make sopa or incense from kava, he might find it in the UK

[Bajeda]

See: Tongan Kava Exports to European Markets to Resume Soon

Haven't seen any updates on this, but then again I haven't really been looking as the situation doesn't really affect me (selfish I know). Will take a look in the near future.

Kava is only banned in a few EU countries so shouldn't it be available from the ones where it is not restricted?

[0utrider]

as a medicine (apart from these conentrate/etrac pills) it is not legal but I'd like to know one EU country where it is not banned as medicine?! afa SWIM knows its banned like everywhere, apart from a few countries where its used for soap etc so one could get it from there..

[sunyata]

Originally Posted by Bajeda

Kava is a controlled substance in Norway and Finland but I do not think it is illegal to procure.

It is specifically listed as a prescription drug. It is illegal, but not as illegal as "narcotics", I think it's a 500NOK fine.
Any psychoactive herb is forbidden in Norway even if not specifically listed as such.
Customs has this loophole where they can demand prescriptions for all medicines and any dried herb is considered medicine.
I've even had live ayahuasca cuttings confiscated by customs. They didn't care that it was alive and not dried.

[kavaman]

I am a kava vendor located in the US. I don't know exactly how the laws work in Europe but I can tell you where we send kava. We always label it as TEA so its pretty clear that the contents are for consumption. I do know from our customers that some packages are opened by customs. Its all clearly marked as kava and there are preparation instructions so there is no deception involved. We send to many countries in the EU , UK, Germany, France, Italy to name a few. There is problems with Sweden, Denmark,Norway, Netherlands. No problems with Canada, New Zealand, or Australia. Hope this info helps.
kavaman

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by wOrship

Germany #
After a handful of deaths have been reported from kava-related liver failure, Germany is considering legislation to more tightly regulate its sale.

Kava-Kava: Zulassung beschränkt

Die Zulassung des pflanzlichen Beruhigungsmittels Kava-Kava soll eingeschränkt werden. Nach Bekanntwerden von 18 Fällen von Lebervergiftung, von denen einer tödlich endete und drei Transplantationen erforderlich machten, soll das Anti-Stress-Medikament künftig nur noch in extrem verdünnter Mischung erhältlich sein."

English: Loosely translated this means that Germany wants to tighten regulations regarding kava after 18 cases of liver poisoning. One of them died and three had to undergo liver transplantation. Kava products will have to be sold in much more diluted form.

(Reference)

Netherlands #
Kava-containing products have been banned for general sale since jan 01 2003. [unconfirmed, thanks JS]

Norway #
Kava supplements and products are not specifically controlled in Norway, but we have been told that the national health council considers it a prescription drug (available only from a pharmacy) based on it's use as a psychoactive drug. (Seeking Reference or links).

I can confirm that kava-kava has been restricted as a medicine in Germany, Netherlands and Finland. As you can find in the file archive, the kava-kava liver(hepa) toxicity was bullshit.

[Panthers007]

Re: Liver failure from Kava~Kava - the tests done on this (as has been reported here and elsewhere) were done using last-stage alcoholics. Whose livers were shot long before they took any Kava~Kava. Just like the same sort of "scientific testing" that was done to prove MDMA causes brain-damage. That test was done using methamphetamine, not MDMA.

Alfa is correct. Utter bullshit.

[Benga]

add France to the list. Kava was removed years ago based on the same famous studies.
b

[Alfa]

Please define how it was banned. Medicine law? Controlled substance?

An unfunny anecdote: The announcement of the kava-kava ban in the Netherlands actually mentioned that kava-kava was being used as an alternative to anxiolitics and bezodiazepines.

[wOrship]

The situation with the UK is that Kava is still banned in England and Scotland.

Wales initially banned it alongside the others but then reversed the ban in late October 2003, Kava is perfectly legal to import, possess and consume.

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp...s_kava_ban.htm

[psyche]

^^ Wow. Nice to see the change in the legal status of a drug happen the other way around too.

In Finland kava-kava is in the medicine list, making it illegal to import (by post?) but legal to possess and use.

[Benga]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Please define how it was banned. Medicine law? Controlled substance?

An unfunny anecdote: The announcement of the kava-kava ban in the Netherlands actually mentioned that kava-kava was being used as an alternative to anxiolitics and bezodiazepines.

Medicine law, based on a temporary ban from the food and medical / hygiene administration, fueled by the German and Swiss hepatic-issue scare. it's not classified, just forbidden for sale, distribution and use for consumption.

the details are here, in a french governmental site :

http://www.minefe.gouv.fr/fonds_docu...s/kava0202.htm

here's a rough summary :
on the 8th february 2002, the AFSSAPS ( french medicinal / heatlh products board ) suspended the sale,distribution etc of kava-kava containing products for a year since liver related issues were mentioned in Switzerland and Germany , even though the AFSSAPS reported none in France. the AFSSAPS recommends against use of kava products in a 9th january 2002 note ( http://www.agmed.sante.gouv.fr/htm/1...rs/020101c.htm)
it is then explained that the plant has no traditional use as food in France, and that the AFSSA, french food board ( the AFSSAPS and AFSSA form the french equivalent of the north american F.D.A.) spoke against use of kava as food supplements or as food for human consumption.
17 companies have been notified and most took the initiative of removing / stopping the production and distribution of kava products on their own initiative.
the ban doesn't seem to have been lifted, so kava is de facto still banned, distribution, importation. But use shouldn't be illegal in these circumstances.

---------------------

Produits à base de Kava


Le Kava (kava-kava, kawa-kawa, Piper methysticum) est une plante médicinale originaire du sud des îles du Pacifique et réputée pour ses propriétés sédatives et hypnotiques. Traditionnellement, dans ces îles, le kava est consommé sous forme de boisson, obtenue par macération de la racine dans de l’eau ou du lait de coco. En Europe, certains produits à base de Kava ont le statut de médicament, d’autres sont vendus en tant que compléments alimentaires.

Par décision du 8 janvier 2002, l’Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des produits de santé (AFSSAPS) a suspendu, pour une période d’un an, la mise sur le marché, à titre gratuit ou onéreux, la délivrance et l’utilisation à des fins thérapeutiques du kava et de produits en contenant, sous toutes formes, à l’exception de certains médicaments homéopathiques. En effet, des cas d’atteintes hépatiques graves ont été signalés en Suisse et en Allemagne à la suite de la consommation de produits à base de kava-kava. En France, aucun cas n’a été répertorié par l’AFSSAPS. Dans un communiqué de presse du 9 janvier 2002 , elle recommande de ne plus consommer les produits à base de kava.

Cette plante n’est pas considérée comme traditionnellement en alimentaire, en France. D’une part, elle a fait l’objet d’un avis défavorable du Conseil supérieur d’hygiène publique de France, le 14 septembre 1999, pour son utilisation à des fins d’aromatisation dans les boissons. D’autre part, l’Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments (AFSSA) a confirmé, le 18 janvier 2002, un avis défavorable à toute utilisation du kava en alimentation humaine, notamment dans les compléments alimentaires.

Tout emploi du kava ou de ses extraits dans un but alimentaire est donc interdit. C’est pourquoi, parallèlement à des actions d’informations menées par la DGCCRF auprès des fabricants, importateurs et distributeurs de compléments alimentaires sur les dangers présentés par cette plante, les contrôles ont été renforcés, la mise sur le marché de compléments alimentaires contenant des extraits de kava ayant été constatée lors de contrôles antérieurs.

Il ressort des premières vérifications effectuées, que de nombreux compléments alimentaires à base de kava sont encore présents sur le marché (une soixantaine d’entreprises a été recensée). La majorité des entreprises avaient eu connaissance de la décision de l’AFSSAPS. Certaines d’entre-elles ont immédiatement retiré de la vente les produits en cause, d’autres se sont engagées le faire, voire à détruire les produits (17 entreprises au total).

Dans ces conditions, les contrôles se poursuivent dans ce secteur afin de vérifier le retrait effectif de tous les produits à base de kava.

[Lunar Loops]

In Ireland there are a number of herbal ingredients that are currently subject to a voluntary withdrawal from the Irish market by the Industry and are not subject to prescription status. Kava Kava is one of these.


The decision was again the result of the spurious liver failure reports.

[Nature Boy]

Originally Posted by Lunar Loops

In Ireland there are a number of herbal ingredients that are currently subject to a voluntary withdrawal from the Irish market by the Industry and are not subject to prescription status. Kava Kava is one of these.


The decision was again the result of the spurious liver failure reports.

SWIM was rather disappointed when he emailed his local headshop about Kava Kava last night. Here's why:

Originally Posted by email interaction with Utopianation, Barrack St., Cork, Ireland

From: SWIM
Sent: 21 May 2008 01:19
To: freedom@utopianation.com
Subject: Question

Do you stock Kava Kava root powder for sale and if so, what are the prices? Thanks.

L.

From: freedom@utopianation.com
Sent: 21 May 2008 11:31
To: SWIM
Subject: Re: Question

Sorry, but we do not stock that, but we do have Clonex rooting Hormone gel which costs 10e for a 50ml bottle.

Go raibh maith agat!

Paul

So by the looks of that, they don't even know what Kava Kava is. It just frustrates SWIM that not only is Kava Kava unavailable, but they are actually completely in the dark about it. I mean, a simple Google search will tell you all you need to know and this dude emails SWIM back about plant food? It's ridiculous. And this is coming from probably the best headshop (Utopianation) in his hometown Cork. The only products they sell SWIM is interested in right now are Blue Lotus and Kratom.

[dr_haldol]

In Germany, Kava Kava as a medicine is also banned...