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estimated read time - 14 min

THE QUICK LIST

In this guide we will define what traditional (medium) grind kava is, what instant kava is, and touch on the major differences between the two.

If you're looking for a guide to prepare traditional kava, we have two options a standard one and a strong one. You can find both guides here.

\"How to make kava\" and \"How to make strong kava\"

While we do not believe either form of kava as traditional or instant dehydrated juice, we will say the two of them are drastically different than kava extracts. Kava extracts do not have the same nuances many of these unique kava varietals can showcase, and this is mostly due to the process of unnatural extraction.

If our opinion, if you want a boring ride, use a kava extract. If you want to explore deeper, use real kava.

What Is Traditional Grind Kava?

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Kneading Pre-ground Traditional Grind Kava

Traditional grind kava is made by grinding dried de-barked whole kava root into a medium-coarse powder, either with modern grinders or, in more traditional settings by hand using something like a pounding stone. This form of kava is the classic style and is usually sourced straight from the Pacific Islands where it’s grown and processed with deep respect for roots. With traditional kava the fibrous root material needs to be strained out of the drink when batching.

The way traditional kava is prepared also has a huge impact on how it feels, how it tastes, how strong it comes out, and whether the whole experience feels smooth and enjoyable or muddy and disappointing. There are a LOT of variables that goes into making kava. Anyone who has spent real time with kava knows this pretty quickly. Same root, two different prep styles, and you can end up with two very different sessions.

Pros of Traditional Grind Kava

Traditions and Rituals

If you’re seeking to connect with this ancient South Pacific drink in the much more formal manner, then this form of kava is for you. This is the classic style of making kava that has been used for thousands of years.

The preparation itself can be a meditative part of the experience and learning how to prepare kava properly helps you avoid wasting good root, helps you stay consistent from batch to batch. Better texture. Better extraction. Better ritual. Better result.

Strength, Uniqueness and Variety.

One of the most notable advantages of traditional grind kava is its strength and effectiveness. Batching kava in the traditional style retains the full spectrum of kavalactones (the active compounds responsible for kava's calming and euphoric effects) often delivers a more potent, more noticeably unique, and longer-lasting experience than extract, micronized, or even instant options. Also, with traditional grind kava you'll be able to adjust the strength, whether you want to make a stronger kava brew or a bit more of a mellow one. It opens you up to the whole range of kava's with uniquely different experiences that most companies do not have the means to manufacture.

Ritualistic and Communal Appeal

The traditions of kava preparation has been passed down for generations and was always about respect for the plant, respect for the moment, and doing things the right way so the experience matched the intention behind it. Because of this making kava the traditional way holds a unique communal and spiritual value. In many island cultures the preparation and sharing of kava is a sacred, social event embedded with traditions that have meaning beyond our technological understanding. Even outside of those cultural settings, sharing a bowl of kava prepared in the traditional way fosters a similar sense of bonding and presence. It's a time for storytelling (talk story), connection, presence with each other and respect for those who came before us. It allows you to have a higher vibration of presence in both alone in a quiet meditative settings or when enjoying it with others in a circle of conversation and laughter.

Cons of Traditional Grind Kava

While traditional grind kava offers an authentic and immersive experience, it does come with a few drawbacks that may be inconvenient for some users, especially those new to kava or short on time.

Time-Consuming

One of the most commonly cited disadvantages is how time consuming the preparation can be. Unlike instant, extracts, or micronized kava, which simply requires stirring into water or popping a pill, traditional grind must be thoroughly kneaded and strained by hand for 10-20 minutes to extract the kavalactones effectively. This process can be seen as labor intensive and impractical for those seeking a quick dose of calm at the end of a busy day, but in our opinion the juice is definitely worth the squeeze (ha. ha.)

Messy Cleanup

In addition to the lengthy prep, the cleanup afterward can be messy. The leftover kava pulp is wet and fibrous and has clogged our drains many times. Plus the straining cloths or bags must be washed out thoroughly, sometimes needing a soak with very hot water, and allowed to dry to avoid mold or bacterial buildup.

Requires Technique

Kneading too briefly or not straining properly can result in a weak brew, while overworking the root, especially with higher micron bags or non-nylon cloths can produce a gritty overly strong mixture that’s less enjoyable to drink. Achieving the right consistency, potency, and texture takes a bit of learning, and newcomers might find this on and off failure a bit frustrating. However, with some practice and a little guidance, most users can master the method.

What is Instant Kava Juice?

Instant Kava Powder Dissolving In Water

Instant kavas are pre-processed form of kava made for convenience. It is typically a dehydrated version of pre-brewed dry or raw kava that dissolves easily in water with no kneading or straining required. It’s designed to deliver many of the same calming effects of traditional kava with minimal effort.

Instant kava is made by brewing either sun dried kava roots or freshly cut roots with raw kava juice, straining it, and then rapidly dehydrating the liquid, usually through some sort of pharmaceutical drying process. This process can be expensive (depending on your tolerances) and results in a fine powder that can be reconstituted just by stirring it into water. Some products may also contain added fillers or flavoring, depending on the brand so it's best to check the ingredients list to make sure you are getting true dehydrated kava juice.

How To Prepare Instant Kava Juice

In preparing the instant kava juice, you'll only need the instant kava juice powder and warm water. Just add the recommended amount on the packaging and stir until it dissolves completely. The juice is great because it also opens the options of mixing it in your favorite non-alcoholic drinks or juices. We have a guide on making some simple kava cocktails.

Pros of Instant Kava Juice

\nQuick & Easy: With instant kava juice there's no need to go through the traditional preparation steps like kneading the root or straining it through a cloth. It takes the work out of the process and most importantly, the clean up. All you need is a scoop of powder, some water, and a few seconds to stir. This is especially attractive to someone new to kava who just wants a hassle-free way to relax and explore this magical root.
\nConvenient On-the-Go: It’s portable, lightweight, and easy to take anywhere. You can just toss a jar in your bag on the way to work, running errands, to social gatherings, or just chilling at a friend’s house, mix up and get a calming drink in seconds. You cannot realistically batch kava at your work during a lunch break, but you can drink instant kava juice anytime anywhere. You can also take it on planes and easily enjoy it while up in the sky.
\nGentler Taste: One of the biggest perks of instant kava juice if made from raw kava juice is the smoother flavor. Traditional kava has a very earthy, sometimes bitter/spicy taste that not everyone loves, especially newcomers. Instant kava juice is made to replicate the raw kava bars back on the islands so it tends to be easier on the palate with more fresh flavors reminiscent of green vegetables like cucumbers and celery with a bit of nuttiness.
\nConsistent Effects: Because instant kava juice is made from a meticulously measured pre-brewed and dehydrated batch, each serving is typically more consistent in strength and effect compared to traditional kava, where preparation differences in temperature, kneading abilities, water content, etc, can vary. This makes it easier to predict how you’ll feel and helps with dialing in the perfect dose, which is important especially for those new to kava or those using it as part of a daily wellness routine. TLDR: You know what to expect, every time.
\nLess Mess: No muddy bowls, strainer bags, or piles of used kava root to clean up. Instant kava keeps it neat and tidy. All you need is a glass or shaker bottle and some water. Kava bags are notorious for being annoying to clean as the lipid molecules tend to get stuck to the bag material.

Cons of Instant Kava

\nCan Be Less Potent: Some instant kavas may not hit as hard as a well-prepared traditional brew. There's limitations to the machines we use and even with thousands of lbs of pressure, it is hard to match a skilled hand used with intention for 15 - 20 minutes. However unlike traditional kava, you can always just add another scoop to increase the strength at any time.
\nLess Varieties: It's harder to find many single origin or single plant varieties as most manufacturers will only process the material in very large batches. This is because it's hard to justify making a batch of instant kava if the plant only outputs a few kilograms of instant. It also could be batched using lower-quality methods or machinery that could make the kava less potent but are much more cost efficient or makes you eat more of the root material.
\nNot Always Pure: Depending on the brand, some instant kava powders may include fillers, sweeteners, or flavorings. While this can improve taste, it may dilute the actual kava content or introduce ingredients you might not want, especially if you’re looking for a clean, traditional experience.
\nPrice Point: Instant kava is often more expensive per serving than traditional grind due to the expensive extra processing. You're paying for the convenience, ease of use, and machinery expertise, which can add up if you’re drinking it regularly. This is especialy the case when a company is somehow able to make an agreement with a manufacturer to make smaller batches (most won't bother doing this). The overall cost to make a large batch and one a fraction of the size is not that different. This is typical in manufacturing and why if you goto a printer it can cost $100 for 30 stickers and $120 for 300 stickers ($20 more for 10x the amount)
\nLimited Ritual & Cultural Connection: For some, drinking kava is about connecting to the tradition and ceremony that comes with it. Instant kava skips the hands-on preparation and communal aspect, which might make the experience feel a little less meaningful or immersive for those who appreciate that cultural side.
\nTaste Can Vary Widely: While some flavored options taste great, others can be chalky, overly sweet, or just… off. Since instant kava is processed, the flavor quality really depends on the company's ethics and method used.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing

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Woman Thinking With Her Hand On Her Chin

Still unsure which form of kava is right for you? Here are some factors to consider to help you choose between traditional grind and instant kava.

Lifestyle

Your daily routine plays a huge role in whether traditional grind or instant kava is your best bet. If you’re juggling a packed schedule of early mornings, late nights, sporadic travel or constant on-the-go vibes (ie, just being a parent), instant kava is going to be your trusty sidekick. It’s ready in literally seconds with no fuss and is perfect for sneaking a moment of calm between meetings or errands. But if you’re someone who can make the time to savor slowing down maybe with a quiet evening or a weekend ritual, traditional grind kava brings a much more soulful experience. The process of kneading and straining the root feels like a meditative ceremony and connects you to the drink’s heritage.

Kava Taste Preference

Kava’s flavor can be a dealbreaker, and it’s where traditional grind and instant kava really diverge. Traditional grind has a bold, earthy taste that’s often described as muddy or spicy (like drinking a forest floor smoothie), which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, or kava. On the other hand, instant kava and especially fresh instant kava juice tends to have a much smoother, less intense flavor profile that is a lifesaver especially when mixed up in a pre-made cocktail or your favorite juice. But if you’re the type who doesn’t mind or even enjoys strong, natural flavors, traditional grind’s robust taste can grow on you, especially as you get used to its unique kick. Over time, that earthy punch might even become part of the charm or a badge of honor, kind of like acquiring a taste for black coffee.

Budget

Traditional grind kava is generally more wallet-friendly, especially for frequent users. You’re buying raw root powder in bulk, which also stretches further per serving (you can learn more about this in our kava for first timers video), making it ideal if you’re sipping kava daily or hosting kava nights with friends. Instant kava, on the other hand, comes with a higher price tag due to its pre-processed convenience. But here’s the flip side: time is money, and if you’re saving 15–20 minutes of prep time per session, instant kava’s cost might feel worth it for busy folks. So it's more of a trade-off. You can spend less money but more time with traditional, or pay a bit more for instant’s and spend the time you saved elsewhere.

Curiosity Of Different Kavas

Your curiosity with kava can steer you toward the right choice. If you’re dipping your toes into the kava world and curious about the different varietals, instant kava is probably the way to go since it’s as easy as mixing a protein shake and you don't need special tools or techniques, plus you can make it much more palatable by mixing into juices instead of water. But the biggest win for instant kava is you can experiment with multiple different strains or blends and explore the nuances all in one night, without being overwhelmed by batching a whole bowl for each separate varietal.

If you’re interested more in the tradition of kava, medium grind lets you experiment differently. You can learn ritual prayers and practices to do while batching, tweak the strength, play with water ratios, or even blend strains for a custom vibe. It’s like the difference between grabbing a pre-made cold brew from intelligenstia versus busting out your latest aeropress method on the beans (You can tell I'm a coffee guy 😂). Both types of kava feed different curiosities.

Who Should Choose What

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Woman Riding A Wooden Swing In the Forest

Ideal Users for Traditional Grind Kava

Kava for Ritual Seekers

If you’re someone who appreciates intention and ritual in your wellness practices, traditional grind kava is likely to resonate deeply with you. For many, preparing kava traditionally is like a meditative act, connecting them to the centuries-old cultural traditions of the South Pacific. So if this idea of finding meaning in ceremony and seeking to honor the origins of what you consume echos more in your soul, then traditional grind offers an authentic path.

Kava for Experienced Users

Those familiar with kava preparation and effects may appreciate the possible more full-spectrum benefits of traditional grind. If you’ve spent some time exploring kava and understand its nuances, traditional grind might be your next step or perhaps it’s already your go-to. Seemingly more complex in its effects, this form is often preferred by seasoned drinkers who appreciate the depth and richness the rituals brings. It’s obviously not as convenient as instant or micronized forms, but for those who are willing to put the time in to pre-batch a whole jug for the week, it’s well worth the time and effort.

Kava for a Group or Ceremonial Use

Traditional grind takes a little more effort, but for a lot of people, that is part of the beauty of it. There is something about slowing down, getting your hands in the water, watching the bowl evolve in viscocity and color, and knowing you are preparing it the same basic way people have for generations. It is simple and there is a rhythm to it. If you are preparing kava for a group, traditional grind is often the more communal option too. It feels more like an experience than a shortcut.

Often regardless of the effects, the ritualistic act of preparing and passing the shell creates a connection with everyone involved that invites conversation often not shared in many other circumstances. This is where traditional grind truly shines as it becomes part of the bonding, the shared experience in the commnunity.

Ideal Users for Instant Kava

Best Kava for Beginners

If you're new to kava and just dipping your toes in, instant kava is the perfect place to start. There's no need to worry about straining or getting the preparation just right. it’s as simple as scoop, stir, and sip. Depending on where you are sourcing and what style of blend, the effects can be more mild, less overwhelming and more approachable, which makes it great for easing into the kava experience without feeling anxiety (Which is the exact opposite of what kava is supposed to do). It gives you a taste of kava’s calming benefits while giving your body a chance to gently get familiar with its effects. For many of us, this was our first introduction and it's still a goto favorite for its ease and consistency.

Kava for Busy Lifestyles

We get it. Life moves fast. Between work, family, and everything in between, taking 30 minutes to knead kava the traditional way might not always be realistic. That’s where instant kava really shines. If you want the calming effects of kava without the time commitment this form is a lifesaver. Just mix it with water (or your favorite cocktail or juice), and you’re ready to go. It’s perfect for winding down after a long day or finding a quick moment of peace in a packed schedule without all the cleanup and fuss.

Kava for Travelers & On-the-Go Users

If you're a wanderlust explorer living out of a suitcase, instant kava is your portable peace of mind. It's lightweight, compact, easy to tuck into a backpack or carry-on, and involves no specialty tools. Just mix it up wherever you are and find your calm. This type is especially helpful If you're someone who gets anxious on flights, needs a way to unwind at the end of a hotel stay, or simply wants to carry that kava glow wherever life takes you, instant kava has your back.

Situational Recommendations

Kava for Social Events

If you're hosting a few friends or showing someone kava for the first time, both instant and traditional grind can play a role so it really depends on the vibe you're going for.

If the goal is casual, low-key enjoyment (backyard hangouts or spontaneous get-togethers), instant kava is going to be your best friend. It’s quick to make in batches, easy to serve, and keeps the momentum going anytime somesome needs another bump without needing a whole ritual.

However, if you're creating more of an intentional space like maybe a kava circle, a group meditation, or just a more connected evening with some friends, traditional grind adds that extra layer of depth to the experience. The shared preparation, the passing of the shell, the time it takes to settle in everything adds up to create a mood of calm and connection.

Kava For Solo Relaxation or Sleep

When it's just you and the end of a long day and you're looking to unwind away from electronics, traditional grind really shines. There’s something soothing about the process itself of continuously kneading the kava, massaging the roots to bring out the effects, straining it slowly, taking those first earthy sips. It's almost meditative.

If you're using kava as a natural way to wind down, especially before bed, traditional grind (especially a \"heavy\" cultivar) can help ease both body and mind into deep relaxation. It’s perfect for those nights when you need an offline ritual to slow everything down from the day. When you're off electronics over the kava bowl working the roots with techniques that have been mirrored for centuries, you feel connected with humanity again, in ways social media will never be able to suffice.

Kava For Quick Stress Relief During the Day

Obviously in this day and age we live fast paced lives and not every moment calls for a full ceremonial prep. When you're juggling work, errands, or just trying to stay centered in a chaotic day of emails, text messages, social media likes, instant kava delivers. It’s fast, discreet, and gets the job done with minimal effort.
You could be in the midst of a midday tension slump, and all you have to do is scoop some instant kava into a bottle, give it a shake, and wait for the waves of calm to knock on your door. Often helping you to return one more with calmer demeanors and a fresh new perspective.

Kava Hybrid Option

Why pick just one when you can have both? Kava doesn’t get jealous like your terrible ex. Keep both traditional grind and instant kava in your stash and even combine them for a unique experience. You can tailor your experience to your schedule.

The addition of both is very unique as you can savor the earthy flavors and customize the strength for a deeper, more immersive calm that’s perfect for meaningful moments or winding down before bed.

On the flip side, when life gets hectic, think early morning deadlines, a packed workday, or spontaneous travel, instant kava is your lifesaver. Just mix a scoop into water or juice, and in under two minutes, you’ve got a stress-busting sip without the mess or time commitment. It’s ideal for slipping into a busy day, whether you’re calming nerves before a big meeting or finding zen during a chaotic commute.

By keeping both traditional grind and instant kava on hand, you’re ready for any scenario and lets you enjoy kava’s full range of vibes.

Conclusion

Choosing between traditional grind and instant kava ultimately comes down to your lifestyle, preferences, and purpose for using kava.

Traditional grind kava offers a rich, authentic experience with customizeable deep effects that are ideal for those who enjoy ritual, connection, going with the flow and not minding the extra preparation time.

Instant kava, on the other hand, provides convenience and accessibility so it is perfect for beginners, busy schedules, or casual use. Both forms have their strengths and can serve different needs. If you’re new to kava, trying both is a great way to discover what fits you best

At the end of the day, kava is about finding peace and balance, which is pretty wild to find these days. So take your time, experiment, stay curious and listen to what your body responds to.

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By Kyle Shigekuni - estimated read time - 29 min

Below is a transcript of the youtube video \"Kava and Liver Toxicity: The Worldwide Kava Ban and The Hidden History\"

In the late 1990s, kava—a ceremonial drink native to the tribes of the South Pacific—was discovered to have a remarkable ability to ease anxiety disorders. But this was hardly the first time an ancient plant was found to possess profound healing properties.

Throughout history, humanity has often turned to the natural world for remedies, and ancient plants, in particular, have repeatedly revealed themselves as real sources of profound healing.

As Bijana Petrovska wrote in Pharmacognosy, “Healing with medicinal plants is as old as mankind itself…. Ever since ancient times, in search for rescue from their disease, people looked for drugs in nature.” (16) And this relationship between humans and plant-based medicine stretches back farther than most realize.

The ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia—widely regarded as the first true civilization—left behind detailed records of medicinal recipes dating back 5,000 years.

And science has shown the concoctions were not mere folklore but thoroughly tested and meticulously crafted formulas, documenting the therapeutic use of plants long before modern pharmacology existed.

The Ebers Papyrus scrolls found in Egypt contain over 700 remedies dating back over 3500 years. (17)

The Pen T’Sao, written by Emperor Shen Nung in 2500 BC, cataloged 365 medicinal plants for eastern medicines, many of which are still integral to traditional Chinese medicine today.

The Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Ancient Indian Rig Veda’s, Ancient Greek and Romans, Mayans, Aztec, Incan, Islamic and more all turned to the diversity and richness of ancient medicinal plant pharmacon. Many of which led to the development of modern pharmaceuticals.

A quick disclaimer. I’m not a medically trained physician so please do not substitute this for medical advice. Any and all statements in here are opinions of my own and do not reflect drinkroot, the team or any establishments we support. These are just my opinions.

Heading

When I was a kid, pharmaceutical companies reigned supreme. Not necessarily king in raw power as one could argue they are even more powerful today, but more so in their perceived authority.

Doctors, pharmacists, and medical institutions were trusted back then, without question.

The prevailing belief was that these experts knew what was best for us—better than we could ever know ourselves. And for the most part it was true.

In the 90’s, When a prescription was handed to anyone in my immediate or extended family, we took it without hesitation, confident in the system that governed our health.

But also in the late ’90s, I recall vivid conversations of another path. Family members and friends spoke of Asian herbal remedies, purchased from shadowy backroom markets.

I remember plastic bags filled with dried roots, barks, and herbs, tagged with caricatures I could not understand. And I remember the pungent aroma of black, sludgy brews simmering in foil wrapped kitchens.

I remember the stench burning your nostrils and the acrid bitter taste encompassing your mouth as you struggled to hold down whatever Mrs Chen had given you.

God forbid you complain, or worse cough up the liquid gold to catch a verbal beating of a lifetime from a true tiger mom.

Even as kids, we learned there are certain mistakes you should only make once.

I remember hearing of acupuncture needles, cupping, herbs, energy healing, and sauna therapy, long before the world’s top coaches were prescribing them to their olympic athletes.

Back then, these were just our asian parents strange pseudo-therapies, which we also learned to never utter about in public..

I was naive. But not anymore.

Because as I’ve learned overtime,, many synthetic drugs are merely derivatives of the native plant medicines they replaced.

And often, these natural forms not only work just as well—sometimes, they work better.

They often provide a more balanced holistic healing without the long list of side effects in fine print.

Modern science of synthetic derivatives, like any tool, is only as pure as the hands that wield it. And one can argue right now the hands may be a little dirty, because when profit becomes the guiding force, things can be easily manipulated.

But if we do not defend what is right, we forfeit the very core of our values.

And if we do not stand by our values, we surrender the complete essence of who we are.

-Human beings exercising our own choices to live freely.

Topics List

The Rise of the Most Powerful Industry

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Two pharmacists working behind the counter of a pharmacy with medicines on display in a glass cabinet

We are about to delve into a brief history marking the biggest breakthroughs (and cash cows) of some of the world’s most powerful companies in the world. This exploration is crucial to understanding the story of kava—what happened to it, and why—but also serves as a cautionary tale, a reminder of how those in power may have manipulated the threads of time for their own gain. It reveals how simple truths can be obscured with a simple sleight of hand covered by a cloud of medical jargon.

Most importantly, it underscores that this manipulation is not a relic of the past— but it continues to shape our modern world today.

The Opium Trade: A Global Epidemic Begins

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Opium Poppy Pods

In the late 1700’s, Britain suffered a massive loss of its exportable tea revenues thanks to the American Revolution cutting off trade access. However, Britain still had well-established trade routes with China. To make use of these routes and make back their losses, Britain had the idea of growing opium in India and selling it to the east. (2)

Opium was massively marketed as a cure-all—headaches, insomnia, diarrhea, cholera, toothaches, even stomach pain. No prescription needed. This of course led to widespread addiction in China and by the 1800’s opium addiction reached catastrophic levels. As the Chinese government recognized the invasive poppy’s devastating grip on society, they sought to sever the supply chain.

But Britain, profiting immensely from the trade, fought back. This led to the famous Opium Wars between Britain and China. Which China eventually lost, which led to Britain imposing a series of unequal treaties that ensured their control over the lucrative market, securing their ability to keep China’s massive population dependent and the money flowing westward.

Poem “An Opium Fantasy”

Soft hangs the opiate in the brain,

And lulling soothes the edge of pain,

Till hashest sound, far off or near,

Sings floating in its mellow sphere.

While opium addiction ravaged China, the use was not just isolated to the east, but was also growing in other established western areas. A common family story is a 12-year-old boy strolling into a pharmacy to purchase a bottle of opium a doctor recommended for their mother’s headache, and three years later, the mother is still stuck using it daily just to feel normal. At the time, the United States was largely preoccupied with westward expansion, fighting tribal wars, and agriculture — at least until a new star was born. Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner.

When Friedrich was 23 years old, he was an apprentice to a pharmacy in Einback Germany. It was here in 1805 where he successfully isolated the first plant alkaloid from opium, and consequently fed it to a nearby dog. The animal fell immediately into a deep sleep. He named this new compound morphine, named after Morpheus, the Greek God of Dreams. (Early Drug discovery and The Rise of The Pharmaceutical Industry - Alan Wayne Jones.). (7)

Morphine: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Opium

Physicians hailed morphine as a non-addictive, safer alternative to opium, and it was widely administered during the American Civil War. But it wasn’t long before significant cases of “soldier disease” became rampant, which is a euphemism for morphine addiction.

Then in 1874, Felix Hoffman at Bayer Pharmaceuticals synthesized another even better variant of morphine—one that wouldn’t carry the same “bad reputation.” His team synthesizing this compound taught doctors and pharmacists to sell the drug as a safer, non-addictive alternative to morphine.

They called this wonder drug, heroin.

Heroin: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Morphine

Heroin was also offered over the counter without prescriptions in a very similar manner as opium. It was marketed as an over-the-counter miracle drug. It was typically used in the same manner as Laudanum (a popular opium tincture) and was commonly used as an over the counter medicine for children's cough. This of course led to a widespread addiction epidemic for a couple decades along with various social and physical health issues. Heroin still remains to be a large problem in the west to this day.

Nearly two decades after heroin’s debut and right as sales began to fall,, big pharma introduced another so-called solution.. This time, the compound had been synthesized years earlier by Adolf von Baeyer. A said to be, safer and nonaddictive alternative to Heroin. He called it, Barbituric acid, or colloquially known as “barbituates”.

This was the first, fully synthetic tranquilizer, and was supposedly named after a lady Barbara that von Baeyer was dating at the time.

Barbiturates: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Heroin

Once again, doctors and pharmacists were instructed to market barbiturates as a safer alternative to their predecessor—heroin. Once again, the risks were downplayed.

The 1930s, marked by the Great Depression, saw an explosion in barbiturate use. Millions of Americans turned to buy these over the counter sedatives to “take the edge off.” Though barbiturates weren’t derived from opium, they worked similarly—depressing the central nervous system to reduce brain activity.

By the time the U.S. entered World War II, Americans were consuming over one billion barbiturates per year. But unlike morphine, heroin, or opium, barbiturates had an alarmingly narrow margin between a therapeutic dose and a lethal dose. In fact, around one in ten overdoses resulted in death, a number that skyrocketed when mixed with alcohol.

Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was a victim to this tragic combination. Famous artist Elvis Presley died from it. Anna Nicole Smith, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and many, many more. The thin line between therapeutic and lethal doses of barbiturates is so pronounced, it may surprise you to know that pentothal, a common barbiturate, was later selected as the primary drug used in lethal injections for the death penalty—a practice that actually continues today.

By 1951, Congress intervened, making barbiturates prescription-only. But by then the pharmaceutical industry already had a new replacement in the last stages of development.

In 1955, Leo Sternbach of Hoffmann-La Roche synthesized a new class of drugs—benzodiazepines. These compounds worked on the same neurotransmitter system as barbiturates, suppressing the central nervous system in nearly the same way. And was sold as the safer and nonaddictive alternative to barbiturates.

Benzodiazepines: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Barbituates

Pharmaceutical companies wasted no time in pushing the narrative for the new drug “Librium”.

Benzodiazepines were marketed primarily as sedatives and tranquilizers, emphasizing their superiority over barbiturates due to fewer risks of overdose and addiction compared to barbiturates.

Posters would often state:

“Safer than barbiturates. Non-addictive. Low risk.”

Sound familiar? But within a decade, the truth became clear: benzodiazepines carried the same addictive and similar fatal potential as their predecessors. Undeterred, Hoffmann-La Roche created a stronger benzodiazepine and repackaged the drug. Their new flagship product? Diazepam, better known as Valium.

Advertisements emphasized their safety, efficacy, and versatility, targeting both physicians and the general public. Thanks to heavy marketing pushed partially orchestrated by the infamous Sackler Family, Valium’s prescriptions and sales soared. And before ultimately being recognized as a high-risk tranquilizer, the industry had already moved on to the next iterations—Klonopin (clonazepam) and Ativan (lorazepam).

Though chemically similar to Valium, pharmaceutical companies cleverly began rebranding these drugs as “anxiolytics” rather than tranquilizers, distancing them from barbiturates and opioids.

The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative for Anxiolytics

Marketing campaigns assured the public they were safer, faster-acting, and less risky than other anxiety relieving drugs on the market —despite the fact that just 1mg of Klonopin was equivalent to 20mg of Valium. This sleight of hand dramatically increased overdose potential but the public being lost in a bundle of medical jargon, was widely unaware.

Then came the poster child of benzodiazepines: Xanax.

Xanax was marketed as a powerful and effective medication for anxiety and panic disorders when used as prescribed. However, Xanax quickly developed a reputation in pop culture, especially in hip-hop music and social media, where it was often referenced as a recreational drug. This contributed to increased illicit use, particularly among young adults and teenagers.

I grew up during this time, and it was not uncommon for high schoolers to acquire and use these drugs in the party scene. It was not uncommon to hear on Monday mornings of 1 or 2 classmates who overdosed on them and ended up in the Emergency Room.

Despite growing concerns, Xanax continues to be one of the most prescribed and widely recognized anti-anxiety benzodiazepines in the world.

The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative for Everything

Despite the growing risk of abuse and addiction numbers growing, the pharmaceutical industry learned something amazing from Xanax and Valium. It was when benzodiazepines were categorized under new more specific categories often as “short term treatment”. The history of addictive and dangerously abusive potential usually did not follow the new classification of a new category.

Business-wise, this made sense because a company could then release a benzodiazepine as a specific treatment protocol and start with essentially a blank slate. Often times it was even downplayed that the drug was a benzodiazepine at all, and was instead marketed as a new and emerging drug specifically for the specific treatments.

Examples are:

Anxiolytics (anti-anxiety drugs) – e.g., diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax)
Hypnotics (sleep aids) – e.g., temazepam, triazolam
Muscle relaxants – e.g., diazepam
Anticonvulsants – e.g., clonazepam, diazepam
Pre-anesthetic agents – e.g., midazolam

The Present Day Crisis

$\"Man$

Man in a black suit and eyeglasses leaning against the window, his head propped on his fist

As of 2024, over 100 million benzodiazepine prescriptions are filled in the U.S. alone—roughly one for every three Americans. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 30% of opioid overdose deaths are directly linked to benzodiazepines. (1)

This is the cycle. The same blueprint. Again and again.

A dangerous drug emerges.

A “safer” alternative replaces it.

The truth is concealed.

The consequences are devastating.

A “safer” alternative replaces it again, the pharmaceutical industry profits at every step and the cycle continues. Are you seeing the pattern yet?

\"If we doctors threw all our medicines into the sea, it would be that much better for our patients and that much worse for the fishes.\" –Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendel Holmes, MD

Now this obviously is not the pattern for all synthetic compounds. Some things are genuinely amazing feats of engineering. Antivirals, Antibiotics, Immunosuppressants, Monoclonal Antibodies. Metformin, Antiaging drugs like GLP-1, NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and many many more.

So what does this all have to do with kava? Now let’s go back twenty years to the re-introduction of this fascinating root.

About Kava

$\"Pile$

Pile of Kava Roots

The complete takeover of benzodiazepines across the mental health space is exactly around the time kava came on the scene. Now remember, in the late 1990’s, kava, a ceremonial drink native to the tribes of the South Pacific, was discovered to be highly effective in alleviating anxiety disorders. It was discovered to be so effective and growing in popularity so fast, that it began being prescribed by medical professionals in the category of anxiolytics to treat anxiety disorders. This interest in a natural alternative, is around the same time Klonopin and Xanax had also begun to be aggressively marketed in the anxiolytics category.

But there was a big difference between kava and xanax.

Kava was a plant, a natural herb. It was found to be non-addictive and did not create chemical dependencies. Xanax on the other hand, was a fully synthetic compound owned and patented by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Researchers found kava did not seem to work off the same channels as all of these CNC depressants. Instead it seemed to enhance your body's natural calming abilities. Because of this, it did not seem to change any of the body’s natural neurotransmitter levels, a primary hallmark of an addictive drug.

Kava was seeming to be a lighter, non-addictive, completely natural way to manage these mental health disorders. It was quickly rising to be a beacon of hope for those struggling with these disorders. It also seemed to help people wean off some of these highly addictive opiate derivatives, and even alcoholism.

For the better part of a decade, forward thinking doctors were prescribing kava as a natural substitution for these prescription anti-anxiety meds. It was growing so fast that when the 2000’s came around, kava prescriptions had grown to 10% of the benzodiazepine market share. Which at that time was already a hundred million dollar industry, and to this day is a multi-billion dollar industry.

That’s Billion with a capital B. Over 450 million daily doses of kava were effectively prescribed during this time. These kava prescriptions were said to be effective, inexpensive, and produced no dangerous adverse effects. Paper after paper was being published on the medical benefits from this ancient tribal plant for anxiety, pain relief, and even cancer reducing benefits.

It was being touted as a “natural wonder”.

But then something strange happened.

The Kava Ban

$\"Man$

Man shouting through a megaphone while holding a stop placard

Surprisingly, Around 26 cases of adverse effects of kava and liver damage suddenly appeared between the years of 1999-2000. This was a sliver compared to the over 3,500 actual deaths EVERY YEAR from benzodiazepine use during that same time period. But, it still was the first time kava had been questioned to be dangerous.

However, there was something reportedly off here. These cases could not be confirmed to be explicitly correlated to kava, as there was often a multitude of other drugs found in each suspect's body, which have correlations to liver damage. But before a thorough investigation could be done, BfArM, Germany’s governing body of drugs and medical devices, immediately began to put on pause, sales authorization for the half dozen prescription kava products from the market.

And that… was just the beginning.

Germany’s Regulatory Crackdown

After the immediate authorization pause on the entire category of kava, bFARM implemented something called a graduated plan procedure in which they would re-evaluate the efficacy and potential risks of kava.

A graduated plan procedure is normally accomplished by running something called a “benefit/risk ratio” on the product in question. In medicine, a benefit/risk ratio compares how much good a treatment will do, against how much harm it might cause. Doctors use this comparison to decide if a treatment is worth using, and regulators (like BfArM) use this to decide if a product should be approved for use. If the positive effects, like: curing a disease, improving symptoms, outweigh the possible negative effects, then the treatment is considered safe and effective for patients. This helps ensure that patients get treatments that are more likely to help than harm them.

However, instead of a standard assessment testing protocol they usually do with… literally every other product used in the medical industry, they decided to take a very…. unique approach. And this is where things went off the rails. Instead of evaluating the abundant history of kava’s benefits as a whole, the hundreds of research articles from universities and clinical researchers around the world, the thousands of years of history of the root being safely used, BfArM Germany’s regulatory body for drugs and the largest drug approval authority stretching across all of Europe, decided to restrict this benefit/risk assessment only to clinical research undergone by the specific companies who were selling kava in Germany.

This meant every single study, every single article, every single paper showing kava’s efficacy in anti-anxiety cases, anti-cancer, even pain relief and a number of other factors, were not considered valid in the assessment. The only things allowed in this assessment were clinical trials conducted by these specific companies.

Now this was fine because a few years prior, each company had already undergone rigorous testing and clinical trials to show efficacy of the product. This was a mandatory process to be approved as a medical product in Germany. These clinical trials easily confirmed the effectiveness of kava in relation to the already published scientific literature on the plant.

So kava should have passed with flying colors right?

The Plot Twist

Well, in an unprecedented move, during analysis of the trials, BfArM decided to implement a new set of standards and rules in how they specifically assessed the category of kava, and how kava’s benefit/risk ratio will be calculated.

This is not normal behavior and I don’t think this actually has ever been done before.

These new rules stated that kava in particular, must qualify under new guidelines for testing to prove efficacy of a positive benefit.

Usually older clinical trials are considered to be still valid as you can't retroactively add rules to old trials when they were not aware of them, but BfArM decided they would enforce this new rule across everything in the present, as well as in the past. Which meant...

every single clinical trial the companies had completed previously before this new rule was implemented, were now invalid.

So now after these changes,

-no studies on kava researched elsewhere around the world were considered relevant,

-no previous clinical trials in the country itself were allowed

-no clinical trials by the companies were considered valid.

This meant that now according to the new rules only within the category of kava, all positive research was thrown out and therefore \"there was not a single piece of research that now qualified to show kava being an effective therapeutic, or giving any positive benefit whatsoever..\"

Thus, at the end of BfArMs assessment, kava was given a negative benefit-risk ratio and marketing authorization was then pulled in 2002.

Keep in mind, pulling marketing authorization is the ultimate last resort. Usually you slap a warning label on the side for potential risks or you limit dosage amounts or something.

\"Well then run some new clinical trials under the new guidelines, you might say!\" Well, yes that’s true, although it would be expensive as clinical trials are commonly in the millions, this was totally doable.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Because of this new classification, this meant any company selling kava or interested in selling kava, now had to run a complete set of preclinical data BEFORE they could re-run clinical trials with humans.

This meant pharmacodynamics testing (what the drug does to the body), Pharmacokinetics (what the body does to the drug), and can include absorption testing, distribution testing, metabolism testing, excretion testing, along with both invivo and in vitro testing for drug toxicity.

It would be great to piggy back some data from research institutions on some of these tests which were already done, but this new rule stated not only did they have to do this testing on their own. EACH company had to do it on their own. No company could share with another. That’s tens of millions of dollars of testing there.

It turns out, even though this new massive pack of testing was now mandatory, the steps and criteria to the application and approval process were actually hidden from the public, and was never explicitly released to the manufacturers and/or researchers.

So not only did everyone have to start over, no one had the list of trials and research that was now mandatory to get done.

And any attempts to receive the information was met with silence.

A couple other rules were instated, one being the new research would have to be audited and conducted under GLP standards or “Good Laboratory Practices”. A standard the majority of studies in all industries, to this day do not meet, nor are they required to meet.

Even if the producers could react, the damage was already done. The result of these unprecedented regulatory actions and refusal for transparency ended in a seemingly well-orchestrated worldwide panic.

A Global Domino Effect

In the following months of the initial de-authorization from the most influential drug approval agency in Europe, many countries followed suit and banned kava importation entirely. This completely devastated the industry and drove under thousands of family kava farms in the South Pacific. Many countries still have kava imports banned to this day.(11)

Mathias Schmidt, a PhD researcher and herbal specialist who worked on the cases stated how at this point, it was no longer about kava. This same mechanism for denying marketing authorization could be applied to ANY other herbal or medicinal product under a simple claim of hypothetical risk.

One could outright ban ginger based off completely hypothetical risk of injury

(Mathias Schmidt, PhD, studied pharmacy at the University of Tuebingen in Germany. He works as a freelance specialist for herbal medicines, with emphasis on quality issues of medicinal plants, including kava.)

Not only had they completely collapsed the entire kava market, they also included a formal recommendation to every medical professional, to substitute a certain synthetic anti-anxiety compound to kava, (which we may or may not have spoke about earlier), to monopolize the market.

But why didn’t the companies fight these bans in court, as others have in similar situations?

The Legal Battles

In Germany, decisions made by regulatory agencies like BfArM, cannot actually be legally contested until they are finalized. BfArM delayed finalizing its decision on kava for ten whole years— and only doing so after facing mounting individual legal threats for ignoring all correspondence on the matter. They were unable to act upon the category for a decade.

BfArm finalized its decision on Kava in 2014, the kava companies who were left holding marketing authorizations took BfArM to court. They laid out a mountain of evidence of a seemingly intentional effort to remove kava from Germany’s medicinal market.

After years of delays and hearings, on June 10, 2014, the court ruled in favor of the kava companies. The verdict stated:

New regulations could not be retroactively applied to established products.
Mere suspicion about a product’s safety was not sufficient grounds for a negative benefit-risk assessment or a marketing ban.
Claims of kava’s liver toxicity were based on assumptions, not hard data, and the actual risk was deemed “very rare.”
The proposed alternatives—benzodiazepines—were not equivalent substitutes, as they posed a far greater risk to patients.

At the time of the ruling, benzodiazepine-related deaths in the U.S. alone were estimated at 7,500 per year. By 2021, that number had risen to 12,500 deaths annually—and that’s just in the U.S. Meanwhile, kava, a non-addictive, natural remedy, had been removed from the market under false pretenses.

Let’s take a moment to meditate on this number as It’s almost impossible to truly grasp the loss of 12,500 lives. When we see numbers like these, they often feel distant—just statistics on a page. But each one was a living, breathing human being with dreams, ambitions, and the potential to change the world in ways we will now never know.

Never Ending Appeal

20 days later after the courts ruled on behalf of the kava companies, on June 30th, 2014 BfArM Germany’s regulatory government agency, appealed the court decision and extended the legal battle. An update as of 2019, BfArM has again pulled marketing authorizations for kava in Germany.

So what happened here?

Well, no one is actually sure. BfArM is not talking about the reasons for making it their highest priority to have all kava companies currently approved for use in the country, be pulled from the market. No one knows why BfArM made it their highest priority to pull all marketing authorization for kava.

No one knows why BfArM did not tell the companies how they could be re-authorized.

No one knows why BfArM began enforcing more rigorous testing requirements specifically for the category of kava and nothing else.

No one knows why BfArM disqualified any and all research spanning decades of kava’s positive benefits.

No one knows why BfArM decided to no longer accept any previous clinical data on kava

And No one knows why they were suggesting benzodiazepines as a \"safer alternative\" to kava,

Benzodiazepines, as we covered earlier, have a long, well-documented history of dangerous side effects, severe addiction, and patient deaths—yet kava remains the one to this day, burdened with entire country bans and cautionary labels.

Even in the United States today, we are required to place liver risk warnings on anything related to kava, a consequence of outdated cases from Germany’s BfArM.

Absurd, right? But is it?

Big Business, Political Corruption,
and Profiting Off Death

$\"Men$

Men in suit shaking hands

In 1967, the sugar industry bribed three Harvard scientists to publish research claiming sugar was harmless and that heart disease was caused by saturated fats—an outright lie that shaped decades of public health policy. And yet, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, my own mother and her geriatric doctor still believe fat is the culprit.

Or take Coca-Cola’s Global Energy Balance Network, an initiative designed to downplay the role of nutrition in obesity and shift blame away from sugar consumption. Or the American Heart Association’s stamp of approval on cereals like Cheerios and Lucky Charms—purchased for as little as $650 a year, without any real scientific backing. And one of the most memorable moments in pharmaceutical history that the mass media does not report on.

In 2004, Merck Pharmaceuticals agreed to a $4.85 billion settlement in lawsuits over its blockbuster drug Vioxx, which had been generating up to an impressive $2.5 billion dollars in revenue EVERY single year for the half decade it was on the market. The company was said to be found liable for deliberately concealing critical data linking the drug to significant cardiovascular risks.

By the time Vioxx was finally withdrawn from the market, an estimated 20 million Americans had already been prescribed the medication and medical researchers determined that approximately 88,000 of those Americans suffered heart attacks as a direct result of taking VIOXX. With a staggering 38,000 of those cases proving FATAL.

Despite the staggering human cost and the hefty financial penalty, Merck Pharmaceutical still managed to come out unscathed with a little under $10 billion in net profit on the drug.

38,000.

It’s a number so staggering that the weight of it almost slips through our fingers. And again, when death is measured in statistics, it becomes easy to overlook the reality: these were people, not numbers.

38,000 empty chairs at dinner tables.

38,000 unfinished stories.

38,000 unique lives, robbed from existence.

And for every life lost, there are millions more forever altered—the spouses who had to bury their life partner, the children who will grow up without a mother or father. We don’t think of loss in numbers, we feel it in moments.

It’s the phone call that never comes again. It’s the voice we’ll never hear once more.

It’s the birthdays that pass uncelebrated.

This loss of life isn’t just history—it’s happening, right now, to people just like us.

Conclusion

This subject was not for the faint of heart and because of that, if you made it this far, I know without a doubt you are probably a human being who has unplugged from the matrix.

I urge you, from now on, even though it may be challenging at times— to question everything. Use critical thinking. Challenge beliefs. It will be hard at first, but these skills are like muscles. The more you use them, the stronger you get. Seek the truth, and the truth will set you free.

So what about kava? Is it true that there is corruption here? Are the systems and agencies that downplayed critical information about the addictive and mortal side effects of certain drugs over the last century, also the same ones that planned a brilliant maneuver to pull a non-addictive, natural and unpatentable remedy from consumers who needed it?

I don’t know. I’m not a medical researcher, physician, or lawyer, but it is very interesting. You know, sometimes, I imagine a world where people believe that heaven on earth is found through spreading light to others. A world where politicians are driven by a deep sense of responsibility, caring more for their impact on society than money or their own image.

A world where our government treats our hard-earned tax dollars with the same care and deliberation as a child who, after a summer of tireless work at her lemonade stand, finally saves enough to buy her first bicycle.

We live in an extraordinary society, shaped by remarkable individuals. Though we are not perfect, I believe most of us are good-hearted, and striving for something greater. It is essential that we stand together, speak up, and take action for the common good.

Share what is meaningful, extend knowledge freely, and bring others into the discovery.

The time to act is now..

References:

NIDA. 2024, August 21. Drug Overdose Deaths: Facts and Figures . Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates on 2025, September 26
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Matheson, Donald ESQ. 1857. What is the opium trade. Edinburgh: Thomas Constable & Co. https://books.google.com.ph/books?
Ahwazi HH, Patel P, Abdijadid S. Chlordiazepoxide. [Updated 2024 Jan 29]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK547659/
United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Opium. 2025 Sept 29. https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/opium
Murphy PB, Patel P, Barrett MJ. Morphine. [Updated 2025 Mar 27]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526115/
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Heroin. 2025 Sept 29. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/heroin
Goerig M, Schulte am Esch J. Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner--dem Entdecker des Morphins zum 150. Todestag [Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner−the discoverer of morphine]. Anasthesiol Intensivmed Notfallmed Schmerzther. 1991 Dec;26(8):492-8. German. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-1000624. PMID:1786314. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1786314/
Science History Institute Museum & Library. Felix Hoffmann. 2025. https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/felix-hoffmann/
Bounds CG, Patel P. Benzodiazepines. [Updated 2024 Jan 30]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470159/
Dhaliwal JS, Rosani A, Saadabadi A. Diazepam. [Updated 2023 Aug 28]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537022/
Fu PP, Xia Q, Guo L, Yu H, Chan PC. Toxicity of kava kava. J Environ Sci Health C Environ Carcinog Ecotoxicol Rev. 2008 Jan-Mar;26(1):89-112. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5868963/
Denham A, McIntyre M, Whitehouse J. Kava--the unfolding story: report on a work-in-progress. J Altern Complement Med. 2002 Jun;8(3):237-63. https://doi.org/10.1089/10755530260127943
Kuchta K, Schmidt M, Nahrstedt A. German Kava Ban Lifted by Court: The Alleged Hepatotoxicity of Kava (Piper methysticum) as a Case of Ill-Defined Herbal Drug Identity, Lacking Quality Control, and Misguided Regulatory Politics. Planta Med. 2015 Dec;81(18):1647-53. doi: 10.1055/s-0035-1558295. Epub 2015 Dec 22. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26695707/
López-Muñoz F, Ucha-Udabe R, Alamo C. The history of barbiturates a century after their clinical introduction. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2005 Dec;1(4):329-43. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2424120/
George TT, Tripp J. Alprazolam. [Updated 2023 Apr 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538165/
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Petrovska BB. Historical review of medicinal plants' usage. Pharmacogn Rev. 2012 Jan;6(11):1-5. doi: 10.4103/0973-7847.95849. PMID: 22654398; PMCID: PMC3358962.
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. \"Ebers papyrus\". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ebers-papyrus. Accessed 3 October 2025.
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Pells, Richard H., Romer, Christina D.. \"Great Depression\". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Sep. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression. Accessed 3 October 2025.

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$\"Woman$

estimated read time - 14 min

He uʻi lolena kū i kiʻona translates to \"A lazy beauty is fit for the dung hill\". At first glance, it’s sounds like just a vivid image, almost poetic in its simplicity, but don’t be fooled by the presumed innocence of the statement. From what I’ve learned, this seemingly basic statement actually calls one to a much deeper moral challenge.

Breaking Down the Proverb

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Woman wearing red floral skirt and white laying curled up on the grass

He Uʻi: So He denotes a singular focus. A person, that person, or you, the individual. Uʻi means “beauty” or “youthful vigor,” but in Hawaiian culture, it’s more than this idea of aesthetics; it’s also mana (spiritual power), it’s the divine potential within you. It is your talents, your charm, your grace, your intelligence, your strength and your capacity to create. These are qualities that carry inherent value, potential, judgement, and power. Beauty, in the archetypal sense is a symbol of vitality, creativity, and the capacity to bring order and meaning into the world. It’s the beauty of being able to articulate a thought, the beauty of truly connecting with others, It’s the spark of the divine, the raw material of a life well-lived

Lolena: This word denotes laziness, idleness, or a lack of initiative. A pathetic refusal to engage with the real responsibility that comes with your blessings. Lolena is a betrayal of pono (righteousness, harmony). Imagine a person endowed with beauty in the truest sense, with potential, with the raw stuff of greatness, and yet they’re lolena, they’re squandering it.

Kū i Kiʻona: Kū means “to stand,” this implies a deliberate choice to remain fixed, to stay where they are not in strength but in stagnation. I kiʻona places you “at the dung hill,” an obvious and distressing symbol of waste, bad habits, toxic influences, or rejected opportunities. In Hawaiian society, the kiʻona was refuse, this is everything deemed useless or worth nothing. It reflects the idea of a life out of alignment.

Together, the proverb paints a stark picture: a person of beauty and potential (uʻi), through laziness (lolena), chooses to stand (kū) in a place of decay (kiʻona). What this is saying is calling out the human tendency to rest on natural gifts, losing in mediocrity, without doing the hard work of cultivating them to be useful to the world.

The Moral and Psychological Call

$\"Woman$

Woman in a brown jacket, with a digital camera slung over her shoulder, walking through the middle of the fields

The Unintegrated Self: The Tragedy of Uʻi and Lolena

At its core, uʻi represents the divine spark within you, your unique gifts, your mana. In Hawaiian culture, this is a sacred endowment, tied to kuleana, the responsibility to cultivate what the divine have given you. But lolena (laziness), is the refusal to act on this gift. A failure to integrate your potential with your actions. This is the refusal to take up the burden of meaning in life and to avoid the heroic journey of inevitably confronting evil in this upward path of reaching your highest potential and impact. It’s the individual who could be a force for good, for creation, but instead chooses comfort, distraction, or apathy (or worse, nihilism). This quote is saying to you, “you’ve got the potential to rectify the perils of human suffering in this world, but you’re lounging in the village square, scrolling through your phone, letting your gifts rot.”

In my early twenties, I had a vision of building a school fundraising charity, after watching my mother, who was a first grade teacher struggle every year through the horrors of her school not having enough funding to buy simple supplies for all of their kids. This frustration selfishly was exacerbated when extra funds that could’ve bought me taco bell, was used to buy kids pencils and notepads. After graduating college I had the energy, the enthusiasm, the passion, the uʻi. But I let lolena take hold. I was distracted by girlfriends, television shows, junk food, and alcohol. I delayed for years. The kiʻona was my cluttered mind, filled with excuses, weekends at the brewery, and low-quality influences. This is what uʻi and lolena suggest together, that your dreams are a burden you’re obligated to carry, and failing to take action leaves you in a life of mediocrity. There’s nothing wrong with living a normal day to day existence, but often it is a pathetic excuse for what you could have been or the impact you could have made if you took actions on the things that actually scared you.

The Victim Mindset: Constructing Your Own Kiʻona

The kiʻona, the dung hill, is a pretty terrifying metaphor. It’s not just external waste (which is toxic relationships, mindless consumption) but the internal trash that exists in your psyche of missed opportunities and self-imposed nihilism. This is why using the word ‘kū’ is so critical. Because it is your choice to stand there. In modern society, the victim mindset is a pathological “mind virus,” convincing us that our stagnation is somehow someone else’s fault. We blame society, circumstances, bad luck, or simply point out how others were graced with better opportunities than we had. But our ancestors knew the kiʻona is self-inflicted, it’s built from the habits and choices you are allowing to define yourself.

Consider the cultural parallel in the Hawaiian value of pono, which demands alignment with righteousness and responsibility. When you embrace victimhood, you reject pono, choosing instead to surround yourself with the cultural equivalent of a dung hill; gossip, negativity, subreddits of people complaining about their circumstances, endless distractions or worse, seeking vengeance on people who’s successes in life shine light on the darkness of your own inadequacies. On your own missing of the mark. And this is exactly what people do not want to hear or acknowledge.

It is when we do this (because I do this too) we must remember, your unacknowledged weakness, laziness, fear, self-doubt, that you are projecting onto the other person to make them the villain is baseless. Because if someone’s risen above you, achieved something you haven’t, the real target of your anger isn’t them, it should be you. This is what Carl Jung calls projection: you casting your own inadequacies onto them, making their success a personal affront. It’s a dark, slippery slope that leads nowhere but down

And remember, Kū i kiʻona implies that you’re not just a victim of circumstances being done to you, you’re an architect of your own decay. And the terrifying truth is you may not even see it, because you are blinded by the comfort of blaming others or worse, being soothed by the crab in bucket mentality of close “friends” saying “You’re right, it’s not your fault. You are perfect just as you are.”

Instead of envying the one who’s risen, maybe we can ask ourselves what they did, what they REALLY did to get there. Maybe they were forced to face hard choices you wouldn’t dare make, maybe they sacrificed everything they loved to make it happen, maybe they’re carrying a weight you can’t see. And maybe, just maybe, their success is actually a beautiful mirror showing you what’s possible if you stop whining and start acting. Again I’m saying this more for myself than anyone else.

Social media, for instance, can be a modern kiʻona, where hours can vanish into pointless dopamine surging reels and rants, pulling the vitality from your life and eroding your mana. Hanging around people who are okay with you failing or refusing to step up to your potential at also a type of ki’ona

You will actually see this a lot when you make the decision to aim up and take the first steps to become the best version of yourself. When you start to exercise regularly, cut bing drinking, start creating things and putting your gifts out into the world, People will claw at you and tell you “you’re doing too much”, “you should relax”. What is really happening is you start to become the ideal, and they begin to feel judged, because your aiming up begins to cast a light on all the shadows of their inadequacies.

And as a word of advice. If-and-when you experience this, these people are NOT your friends, and continuing to be friends with them may not even be good for them either. It’s better to focus on your own growth, conserve your energy, and build your strength so you have more than enough to bring your light into the world. It is their choice to then either follow your example, or crawl back into their buckets and play the victim.

The Heroic Path: Moving Beyond the Kiʻona

In Hawaiian culture, kuleana is a duty, but moreso a sacred trust to contribute to the world. The higher road is choosing to act, to challenge yourself, to cultivate your gifts, and to align with pono. This resonates with the concept of the hero’s journey, where the call to adventure demands leaving the comfort of the known. This is the Abrahamic story in the Bible, where he left the comfort of his fathers home to endure great challenges, famine, in order to be a father of nations. This is the story of Buddha, a privileged prince, who he left his lush walled gardens to confront the universal experiences of suffering and impermanence.

This is also the underlying message of the disney classic Sleeping Beauty, Where the King and Queen attempt to create a world for their daughter, princess Aurora, shielding her from all harm and void of any danger or suffering. This overprotection leaves Aurora naive and unprepared for life’s inevitable challenges. It’s because of her severe naievete, that pricking of her finger on the spinning wheel, then going into a deep sleep symbolizes her retreat into unconsciousness and internal escapes from the overwhelming experience of adulthood. Only an act of true love will awaken her to the beauty and suffering of the real world.

Practical Applications

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Woman dressed in white, smiling as she talks on the phone and holds a white tablet

To live the wisdom of He uʻi lolena kū i kiʻona. Here are some actionable steps, to integrate your uʻi and embrace pono:

Claim Your Uʻi: List three gifts you possess. These can be your makana (sacred endowment or talent) or your kālena (skill). Maybe you’re a natural storyteller or a problem-solver. Recognize these as your mana.. Then, pick one gift and commit to using it everyday, even for 10 minutes, like drafting a story or solving a small problem. Do this for ten days, then move onto your next gift.

Name Your Lolena: Identify where you’re stagnant. Are you scrolling endlessly, avoiding a hard conversation, or delaying a goal? Journal for 10 minutes about one area of lolena. For example, I realized I was wasting time cooking instead of writing. Once I simplified most of my meals to just 3 or 4 ingredients, I spent less time cooking, less time eating, and more time being productive. Once you recognize a true area of waste, take one small action to break this cycle.

Clear the Kiʻona: Remove one toxic influence from your life; negative friends, mindless social media, anxiety inducing news, or self-doubt. Demand a clean environment for the health of your soul. For instance, unfollow accounts that fuel comparison or spark outrage, and replace them with inspiring podcasts or comedy. Act this week to curate your surroundings for growth.

Live Pono: Align your actions with a higher purpose. How can your uʻi serve others? Volunteer, mentor, create something meaningfu.. Pono is contribution. For example, use your organizational skills to plan a community event. Start now, with intention, to make a difference.

Conclusion

Your uʻi given to you is a sacred trust, and lolena is its betrayal. The kiʻona is the consequence of inaction, but it’s not your destiny, we are meant to be so much more than the world believes we are capable of. Decide to move, to integrate your gifts with action, and to walk the heroic path. Make the conscious decision to build the cathedral of your life, not for pride but for purpose.

He uʻi lolena kū i kiʻona - \"A lazy beauty is fit for the dung hill\"

This blog post is part of a bigger exploration of philosophical concepts and thought that I am personally pursuing through the teachings of our ancestors. I am writing these words myself moreso than anyone else- so do not think I am putting myself on some proverbial pedestal by any stretch. All information stated here are opinions of my own and do not reflect the values of the company drinkroot or the team.

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THE QUICK LIST

Table of Contents

What Is Traditional Grind Kava?

Pros of Traditional Grind Kava

Cons of Traditional Grind Kava

What is Instant Kava Juice?

How To Prepare Instant Kava Juice

Pros of Instant Kava Juice

Cons of Instant Kava

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing

Lifestyle

Kava Taste Preference

Budget

Curiosity Of Different Kavas

Who Should Choose What

Ideal Users for Traditional Grind Kava

Ideal Users for Instant Kava

Situational Recommendations

Kava Hybrid Option

Conclusion

Heading

Topics List

The Rise of the Most Powerful Industry

The Opium Trade: A Global Epidemic Begins

Morphine: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Opium

Heroin: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Morphine

Barbiturates: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Heroin

Benzodiazepines: The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative to Barbituates

The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative for Anxiolytics

The Safer and Nonaddictive Alternative for Everything

The Present Day Crisis

About Kava

The Kava Ban

Germany’s Regulatory Crackdown

The Plot Twist

A Global Domino Effect

The Legal Battles

Never Ending Appeal

Big Business, Political Corruption, and Profiting Off Death

Conclusion

Table of Contents

Breaking Down the Proverb

The Moral and Psychological Call

The Unintegrated Self: The Tragedy of Uʻi and Lolena

The Victim Mindset: Constructing Your Own Kiʻona

The Heroic Path: Moving Beyond the Kiʻona

Practical Applications

Conclusion

Big Business, Political Corruption,
and Profiting Off Death