piper678

This decision made all kava Schedule 4; except dried whole or peeled rhizome, No. Now kava roots (techincally not a rhizome) are Scedule 4, unless people on this board can help out. I am only one person and had put in one submission to overturn this, it delayed the inevitable for quite a while, but more support is now, urgently, needed. There is only until August 19th to register a flood of protests. If anyone wants to actively do something, details below and I can always be contacted if more information is required. Members generally agreed that the submission had not established a case for overturning the previous decision to restrict access to kava products. A Member noted that support for Pacific Island economies was not a relevant consideration under section 52E. RESOLUTION 2009/56 - 10 The Committee decided that the current scheduling for Piper methysticum remains appropriate. From http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/record/rr200906.pdf 1. POST-JUNE 2009 NDPSC MEETING GAZETTE NOTICE The post-meeting gazette notice for the June 2009 meeting of the NDPSC is now available on the NDPSC website. Please note that interested parties have until close of business on 19 August 2009 to lodge post-meeting public submissions with the Secretariat in relation to the scheduling changes listed in Part A or B of the post-meeting gazette notice. Follow this link to access the post-meeting gazette notice for the June 2009 meeting of the NDPSC. http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/ndpscgan.htm

There are plenty of studies on kava, all generally very good risk to benefit ratios, and positive to kava and the lack of liver damage. There is however volumes of work from one highly suspect “researcher”, Clough, who has not had a single peer agree with his dodgy findings, yet this venomous work was originally blindly accepted as gospel by NDPSC when presented as a submission by an aging economist. I do have most kava papers ever published or unpublished on file for the very serious researchers if required. To follow is the latest one sent to me a few days ago:- Latest News Articles Home › News › Article Kava is safe and effective 22 May 2009 University of Queensland research has found a traditional extract of Kava, a medicinal plant from the South Pacific, to be safe and effective in reducing anxiety. To be published online in the journal Psychopharmacology are the results of a world-first clinical trial which found that a water-soluble extract of Kava was effective in treating anxiety and improving mood. The Kava was prescribed in the form of tablets supplied by Queensland company MediHerb Pty Ltd. Lead researcher Jerome Sarris, a PhD candidate from UQ's School of Medicine, said the placebo-controlled study found Kava to be an effective and safe treatment option for people with chronic anxiety and varying levels of depression. "We've been able to show that Kava offers a natural alternative for the treatment of anxiety, and unlike some pharmaceutical options, has less risk of dependency and less potential of side effects," Mr Sarris said. Each week participants were given a clinical assessment as well as a self-rating questionnaire to measure their anxiety and depression levels. The researchers found anxiety levels decreased dramatically for participants taking five tablets of Kava per day as opposed to the placebo group which took dummy pills. "We also found that Kava had a positive impact on reducing depression levels, something which had not been tested before," Mr Sarris said. In 2002 Kava was banned in Europe, the UK and Canada due to concerns over liver toxicity. While the thee-week trial raised no major health concerns regarding the Kava extract used, the researchers said larger studies were required to confirm the drug's safety. "When extracted in the appropriate way, Kava may pose less or no potential liver problems. I hope the results will encourage governments to reconsider the ban," Mr Sarris said. "Ethanol and acetone extracts, which sometimes use the incorrect parts of the Kava, were being sold in Europe. "That is not the traditional way of prescribing Kava in the Pacific Islands. "Our study used a water-soluble extract from the peeled rootstock of a medicinal cultivar of the plant, which is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia and is currently legal in Australia for medicinal use. "In addition to benefiting sufferers of anxiety, allowing the sale of Kava in Europe, the UK and Canada would significantly enhance Pacific Island economies, which have lost hundreds of millions of dollars by not being able to export the plant over the past several years." (Source: University of Queensland: Psychopharmacology: May 2009)

Will post more on that as soon as I can, Working with a broken shoulder, out of hospital, but ouch factor too high and this is not yet urgent as have plenty of time to reply and suggest.

You mean the ones that tried to hide it? That is the same as trying to sneak in an amount of yams, coconuts etc.. Failure to declare agricultural or animal products will mean Quarantine will rightfully kick your backside all over the place for things like that.

Yes, they were kind enough to write to me and say so, however.... Now note the key word. "reconsidering" http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/gazette/g0906pre.pdf page two 1.4 Piper methysticum (Kava) – consideration of scheduling, including a proposal to exempt the dried root or rhizome from scheduling (see item 12.1.5 of the February 2009 Record of Reasons). I was also informed that there will be advertisements (where??) so that the general public can have a chance to comment on this rescheduling. Is this standard or normal? The last thing I need to see is that aging economist and the dodgy researcher being once again the only two who favoured for very suspect reasons the original prescription scheduling that appeared out of the blue popping. Do mot need them popping up by stealth again. I have already had my camp do the latest submission that triggered the rethink so I guess I will no doubt be not considered proper to make further comments. I can get some very high level support from overseas scientists and industry groups but I will need to tell them where to send their comments and/or submissions to. All suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Pardon the pun, but that part has me rooted too! According once again to our esteemed High Commission if is common knowledge that kava is shared. Hope the Court feels the same if everyone is charged at Pacific Island celebration sharing their prescription item. Apparently not been gazetted, and I cannot find same, so I can only imagine it is not law... yet. Maybe I missed something. Any updates?

According to our Australia High Commission in Vanuatu, and direct information from Trade Departments in Tonga and Samoa, "in recognition of the cultural value of kava to the Pacific Islanders" the 2 kg import has been signed off as allowable by the appropriate Minister in Australia, so it is legal to CARRY on you 2 kg in person. I would not recommend phone calls as an answer from Office of Chemical Safety, get this in writing. As this is a plant product it MUST be declared to Quarantine on arrival and that’s it. International flight airline staff can and do bring in kava. If they drink it themselves who knows, it has not yet reached the stage where the enforcement agencies follow them around. What I would like to see is the police raid a Ministerial Pacific island meeting in Canberra, where kava is being shared with Australia politicians and they all get busted for supplying for sharing a prescription item not prescribed by a doctor or supplied by a pharmacist. Or a big raid on a Tongan or Samoan wedding, funeral or celebration. However you could bring in 10 ton of piper wichmanni. It is NOT illegal.

That latest submission was written from my camp. We are forced into taking a new view in this ridiculous kava war. LAW. When politics, reason and science fail, law will not. The law approach can also be broadened to include “research” bodies who do not bother to check what their researchers are up. Allowing dodgy personal politics and dangerous “scientific” practises to masquerade as genuine research and then go ahead and blindly publish deliberate untruths until it becomes fact in the minds of the lazy and ignorant is simply not on. If factual scientific presentation does not work with Regulatory bodies, than the Courts with their power of awarding damages is the only option left. Some sensible supporting public comments to NDPSC would be useful. If they want to back door out that is fine by me, as long as they simply get out as this beat up of kava is simply BS at its finest.

This is the latest NDPSC on kava (as of today 08.05.09) which says they have done nothing further. http://www.tga.gov.au/ndpsc/record/rr200902.pdf

The amount of kava allowed accompanied by a person 18 years or over at an international arrival point is 2kg. This is the concession for cultural purposes. Very dumb, as kava is never consumed alone, however I have heard of no one (yet) being charged for supplying their friends prescription items without being a pharmacist and prescribed by a doctor. WA has kava listed as a poison. No flights arrive there from kava growing areas, but I have no idea of the laws for flying or posting domestically something classified as a poison. There is however, no law anywhere against piper witchmanni. Is the onus on Customs and Boarder Control of test it to say otherwise, or is it the problem of the receiver? The only way to distinguish between the two (the good drinking kava is piper methysticum) once dried and powdered would be via HPLC profiles. I do not think anyone in Australia even has the standards, well put it this way, no one in “officialdom” has ever been able to say when I asked for protocols to ensure that my HPLC standards which are used World Wide were the same as Australia. Maybe if Australia actually had standards for HPLC testing kava, it would not have been banned in the first place. The alleged kava that Clough et al claim caused health problems should have been tested first, as it is an extremely high chance that kava coming from Fijian- Indian suppliers, industry famous for dodgy practises, kava used in the NT would probably have contained sugar cane baggasse, old milk powder, probably anything else from the floor sweepings and was probably mouldy from poor handling to boot.

With any plant material you must declare it to Quarantine. Quarantine are good guys, not there to annoy you, they are simply protecting against disease entry. They know kava, so it is not a problem. In fact the Quarantine to declare line is generally quicker for exit. 2 kg of kava per adult is allowed. The generous Gov. contribution "in recognition of our culture." You cannot post it, or have it as anything but accompanied baggage or hand carry.

"looking into it" still. And no submissions for the lifting of the prescription ban will be heard until Feb.

Allan Clough. And when Menzies School of Health were asked source of funding under Freedom of Information for this blokes "studies" they quoted over $6000.00 the highest ever. The whole thing is dodgy, especially when you learn his wife was sacked from the exact same place that all the negative studies were done on, and then became best friends with one aging economist, no science background, Ms. Helen Hughes who presented the "paper" to have kava made prescription only. Clough has bolted camp to Townsville now.

Yes. You were lucky. From the USA they may not have thought about kava comming from there. Exporters from Vanuatu who have clients in Australia wishing to take the risk of lose and being clearly told it is a risk, are getting high seizure rates. Being posted from inside Australia has not resulted in a problem. Only piper methysticum is illegal by the way. So if it is just labled kava good chance it will be presumed that it is piper methysticum. And this is what happened to some poor Tongans who were probably just looking to have a peaceful Christmas rather than people drunk and agro on alcohol. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=682502

Not only is the High Commissioner wrong or confused, at least one TGA person obviously does not know what they are talking about either. Shame I never got the 3 month personal importation scheme rule interpretation from a TGA employee in writing as it is again 100% wrong information. This is on TGA website... The Scheme does not allow either the importation of drugs prohibited by Customs legislation. Go to Customs website... Kava is prohibited. The existing approval that allows for the import of up to 2 kg of kava in the accompanied baggage of an incoming passenger (aged 18 years or over) to Australia will continue. This recognises that kava has traditional ceremonial and cultural uses for people of South Pacific Islander descent Interesting as there is evidence of the Torres Straight Islanders traditonal kava use. Makes sense as kava was and is still used just a short canoe ride away in Daru, Papua New Guinea. However the XXXXX from the NPDSC submission is in his new job in Townsville. Maybe about to block the evil kava again?? XXXXX is a prolific author of volumes of kava “studies” in the Northern Territory but no other scientist in the World can reproduce anything remotely like his results. The Menzies School of Health has responded to a freedom of Information request to the source of funding for these “studies” with a claim it will take them 200 hours, require permission of a third party (interesting) and will cost over $6000.00 Every other University or scientist has produced kava study source of funding free of charge and generally with a pleasant phone call from the scientist/ researcher, happy to take an interest, but not this mob. Very strange indeed. I only started asking questions initially as I was concerned there was actually a real health problem. Once again there is not. NDPSC did not make a scientific based decision with kava. I would have thought there would be some form of legal obligation to do so, and not rely only on an opinion piece from an aging economist quoting dodgy science and then claim they considered health when the whole lot of it is a crock of shit. Something stinks bad here.