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The Corroboree
Torsten

Kava to become S4 [prescription only]

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If things are as unclear then as they are at this point in time then I will certainly give it a shot. I think you are spot on with there being a large number of people bringing it back as a souveneir (after all, it is a large part of the South Pacific islanders culture), so I doubt there would be much more to it than 'sorry mate, kava is no longer allowed in Aus without prescription - we'll take that off your hands for ya'. It will be interesting to see how quarantine looks now - I'm sure they'd have it very well advertised if it was indeed a no-no for import.

Thanks for the input AA and T :)

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quarantine has NOTHING to do with any of the other pieces of legislation. They ONLY enforce quarantine matters. It even states so on every AQIS import page and yet so many people claim that because an item is listed as quarantine permitted then it must be legal. This is simply not the case.

The quarantine status for kava is unlikely to have changed as the quarantine risk for kava has not changed.

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Sorry Torsten - I meant the dudes that check you out on return from overseas (I think it is just quarantine but it might be customs too?). I was thinking they'd probably have it well advertised considering there will be several hundred of us returning from Vanuatu. So do you think there is a chance that they wont even say anything about it because there is no increased risk (so quarantine probably dont really care about kava)? Where do customs come into the picture - do they search you too? Sorry I'm hopeless on these matters - I have only done it once and that was just a matter of walking thru the gates (pretty much) so I'm not sure how the process worked and how it may in future.

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I'm confused.

If Kava is now S4, and Happy High Herbs and Shamans have all stopped selling it...then why is the Kava Hut in Adelaide still fully open and running? I went there only a few days ago and had a few shells. And you can still buy some...although it is expensive (not the fault of the Kava Hut).

According to the the owner, she contacted the TGA about all this when she heard customers from HHH telling her it was all illegal, etc. - and the TGA (who, of course, know about her business) said that nothing has changed since the importation ban.

What is going on?

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If Kava is now S4, and Happy High Herbs and Shamans have all stopped selling it...then why is the Kava Hut in Adelaide still fully open and running? I went there only a few days ago and had a few shells. And you can still buy some...although it is expensive (not the fault of the Kava Hut).

The law is relatively clear. I don't understand the confusion about this aspect of it. Around NSW and Qld the health departments and even foodstandards have been hassling the shops and distributors [incl myself and HHH] even before the ban to make sure we would all stop selling on the date. Maybe SA is a bit slow....

According to the the owner, she contacted the TGA about all this when she heard customers from HHH telling her it was all illegal, etc. - and the TGA (who, of course, know about her business) said that nothing has changed since the importation ban.

The TGA are not very bright. I've gotten some pretty bad advice from them in the past. Worse even, they give you the advice and then tell you that it is not binding as all the laws are enforced by the state health departments and that they do their own interpretation of the national laws. So, maybe SA is interpreting the law differently, maybe they haven't actually become aware of the change [as is indicated by the statement that there has been no change], or maybe the TGA advice is completely useless and the kava hut will get nailed by the SA health dept next week.

Fact is the laws have changed and they are pretty clear as far as sales of kava go.

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Sorry Torsten - I meant the dudes that check you out on return from overseas (I think it is just quarantine but it might be customs too?). I was thinking they'd probably have it well advertised considering there will be several hundred of us returning from Vanuatu. So do you think there is a chance that they wont even say anything about it because there is no increased risk (so quarantine probably dont really care about kava)? Where do customs come into the picture - do they search you too? Sorry I'm hopeless on these matters - I have only done it once and that was just a matter of walking thru the gates (pretty much) so I'm not sure how the process worked and how it may in future.

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.

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