My interest in kava was sparked when Australian politician Michael McCormack became ill after drinking kava while visiting the Pacific Islands as part of an Australian delegation. In a subsequent interview, he jokingly suggested that an International Kava Day should be instituted to commemorate the incident. At that time I had never drunk kava.

I conducted an informal survey based in Parramatta. All Pacific Islanders had taken kava, but kava consumption tended to decline since coming to Australia among the younger generation. F, a Tongan, reported that his father took kava every weekend. E, an Aborigine, knew of kava but had never drunk it. He did not think that kava would help the Aboriginal community overcome their alcohol problem. White people generally had not heard of kava. J, a pharmacist, had a negative attitude to the drug, saying it had been banned for decades.

Kava products are available in vitamin stores and pharmacies. The products include:

• Kava 3800, Thompson’s
• Kava, Bioglan
• Kava Calm, Nature’s Sunshine.

Kava itself was available at Harris Park Liquor, but no other liquor store in the Parramatta area