Kava culture Puns

I'm pretty new to Kava within the last few months. I live in St. Petersburg, FL where there are tons of Kava bars. More than anywhere I've ever been. It's obvious that there's quite a strong "Kava community" here. You'll see lots of the same circles hanging out at the different kava establishments. People see this as an alternative to the bar scene.

Where else in the US has this strong of a Kava culture? It would be cool to see a list of "US cities ranked by their ratio of Kava bars to people"

TL;DR: Is kava culture a thing, and do I need to be aware of it as a white person in a kava shop?

I was introduced to kava by a friend who spends significant time in Hawaii. He showed us all a Hawaiian ceremony the first time we had it. Since then, I've brought about 8 different people to try it. He told me he was concerned about being respectful of the culture.

We're both white, and I tend to second guess white peoples' views on cultural appropriation unless I hear it from a POC that is from that culture. Is this a thing? I don't want to be disrespectful in any way. I just like it and wanted to introduce people to such a helpful and great drink. It's helped my migraines significantly, and I plan on being a regular consumer, but I don't want to disrespect anybody.

Of the kava bars in the area, which one would you recommend to newcomers to the area? Looking to introduce the culture to my non alcoholic friends. Thanks!

Today we tackle the question of “how much is too much?” We see this question asked at least once a week between the kava platforms. Every time this question is asked you’ll see various answers that are, in themselves, all correct. So what variables go into answering this question, and why are the answers so different?

First we need to define what the person means when they say “too much”. Typically this question relates to the feeling of inebriation beyond that of which the kava drinker is comfortable. Occasionally a user can ask this question in relevance to “overdose”. Both of these questions are unique and should be addressed separately.

“Too much” in terms of comfort can vary with every kava drinker. Where one user may drink 5 shells to find their comfort zone, another may drink 12. Kava amounts vary based on the culture surrounding the plant and the individual consuming it. Some Polynesian kava sessions may see kava drunk for as long as 6 hours and they may consume up to 8000mg of kavalactones, with the average rate of consumption being 1,482mg per hour [1]. As you can see this far exceeds the “clinically” recommended amount, and this leads to the second part of our question: Overdose?

Overdose of kava is a contested data point. Clinical amounts that were tested in vivo were limited from 60 to 120mg of kavalactones per day for no longer than 3 months. This was in line with the German Commission E recommendations regarding both daily kava dose and duration of treatment [2]. Aporosa, and Tomlinson found that 100ml of traditionally prepared kava contained an average of 247mg of kavalactones [1]. One shell of kava can contain up to 250ml of liquid which would equate to ~600mg of kavalactones per shell. This amount far exceeds the recommended dosage and would fall into “overdose”. Obviously one shell of kava is not an overdose. This is yet another instance where science and physical observation clash.

This leaves us with the reality that “too much” kava is completely an individual experience, and as such we need to look at the individuals to see what constitutes a “kava dose”. Going back to a thread from 2017 we find that most individuals average around 1kg of noble powdered kava consumption per month. This calculates out to around 30-40g of kava per day. Upper averages tended to level off around 60g per day with maximums being 100g per day. Negative effects such as dry skin, dry eyes, intense thirst and sluggishness were seen to become more apparen

I have a hard time dealing with the roller-coaster of life with out substances. My medicine of choice was weed, it helped me sleep and take the edge off of life. I did realize I was abusing the medicine and I felt I needed to have it to unwind from work. Also it did help with sleep, but cannabis does not allow REM sleep.

I'm about 6 weeks off of it and I'm still having vivid dreams, and I didn't under the influence of cannabis. I've taken LSD and psilocybin probably a hand full of times and each time was a ceremony where I would respect the medicine and used it for insights on life or issues.

With that being said how is everyone rationally dealing with the rollercoaster of life while respecting the medicines (LSD, psilocybin, cannabis, mescaline)???

I also have the hardest time meditating and doing breathwork, it's almost like I have such a hard resistance to do it sober. Under the influence of cannabis I can definitely have the discipline and focus to mediate or do the wim hoff or holotropic breathwork. Does anyone else feel like this?

I'm really curious on your input with this matter.

No doubt there are always new research chemicals and designer drugs out there. And it would seem that many plants from distinct regions have made their way into the spotlight in the west, likely due to the internet and globalization, like Salvia, Iboga, kanna, kava, betel nuts, various sources of DMT and 5-meo-DMT.

I was wondering if anyone has ever estimated how many psychedelic plants are still out there, both with cultural use and ones which have never been discovered (or at least discovered to be active)? Is there anyone looking for new psychedelic drugs in nature? Is there any evidence of psychedelic compounds which were once known to man, but have been lost to time?

I often hear people say that Autism is like having super powers. I am entirely new, to the community, but have known basically all my life. I finally got my diagnosis a few weeks ago, and it's stirring up some negative aspects in my life, as a result... So, I could use some encouragement, by forcing myself to look at this positively. Please join me in a conversation about how being on the Spectrum is like having a super powers, and what it means to you.

Super smell - able to pick up and identify smells with very few particles. I view my world almost entirely differently than most, and I can even distinguish hormones 😓 To me, this is a joy to see the world this way, but sometimes it can be a bother, around more intolerable smells, like garbage.

Favorite smells: Kitty tummy & forehead, a foggy cool morning laden with dew or a fine mist, tomato plants and their aroma when you prune them, Oregano & Catnip plants, (lots of plant-specific smells), working up a good honest work-sweat, clean hair & natural scent (emphasis on the Clean part), fresh / airrated ponds with frogs & turtles, turning over a rotten stump.

Least favorite smells: when said rotten log houses an angry / startled millipede and it oozes foul oil (similar to Kava Kava or Rooibos Tea), also angry spiders (smell similar to the unpleasant taste of soap), angry sweat, lazy / stagnant sweat, threatened sweat, angry ladybug oil (similar to eating earwax), angry centipede oil (similar to spider), and angry Ant acid (similar to concentrated vinegar mixed with a heavy Carbonated Belch-out your nose), cigarette smoke (makes my liver/gut hurt within minutes of exposure.

Another Super Power I have is incredible pattern recognition. Ironically, this is how I heavily rely on Masking, and Coping in society. This is the reason why I was often mistaken, in my diagnosis, because I've managed to adapt so well to the circumstances. With immaculate pattern recognition, comes a huge territory of advantages, and disadvantages. Some advantages are; being able to recite/remember patterns of numbers easily, being able to memorize test answers based on recurance, recognizing perfect pitch / tone (unable to duplicate though), being able to communicate with my cat on a closer level than most, being able to mimic animal calls and body language-enough that it fools them into interacting with me at the very least. But a huge one, is recognizing continual patterns in people's behavior. I'm hoping that some

Since Kava acts on your GABA-A receptors, it’s possible to experience major withdrawals if you stop using Kava, right? If not then can someone please explain how there’s no withdrawals from kava

Plz don’t downvote bcuz I really don’t know

The funeral director was asking us what we think Mum should wear in her casket.

Mum always loved to wear sarongs (fabric wraps that go around the torso and drape downward a bit like a long skirt would), so my uncle suggested that she wear a sarong in there.

The funeral director looked a bit confused, as did some of our family members, to which my uncle added:

"What's sarong with that?"

I started laughing like an idiot. He was proud of it too. The funeral director was rather shocked. We assured her, and our more proper relatives, that Mum would've absolutely loved the joke (which is very true).

His delivery was perfect. I'll never forget the risk he took. We sometimes recall the moment as a way help cushion the blows of the grieving process.

--Edit-- I appreciate the condolences. I'm doing well and the worst is behind me and my family. But thanks :)

--Edit-- Massive thanks for all the awards and kind words. And the puns! Love 'em.

The story goes that a woman died but before her death, she told her husband to keep her grave and look after any plants that grow around it. So after her death the husband would visit her grave and keep it clean, one day while visiting her he noticed a plant growing from her genital area. After noticing the shoot he recalled his wife's words and looked after the plant. After a few years of keeping it, one day he came to visit the grave only to find that rats had been chewing on the roots of the plant. The rats appeared intoxicated and could not run away, slowly wobbling around and falling asleep one after another. It was then that the first people began to chew kava and discovered it's intoxicating effects. In Vanuatu culture, kava is a woman/feminine entity. On my island, the name for our variety of kava "Melo Melo" means "Lick it, lick it", keep in mind where the kava originally grew from. I'll leave it to your imagination to understand the meaning.

I would have a daughter

Capital of Ireland

It's Dublin everyday

Hello all.

I want to make a water extracted kava concentrate and I'm wondering how to proceed, as to extract and preserve as many kavalactones as possible.

The Process
Water has been found to be able to extract up to 78.5% of the kavalactones in kava root: https://i.imgur.com/TFrQSyZ.jpg and 100 minutes in water, at 100 degrees Celsius in a pressure chamber, appears to yield a 40 % extract, without loss of kavalactones, https://ibb.co/1bwGfwT

And since high temperatures does not seem to degrade the kavalactones, if the exposure is sufficiently short, say 10 minutes, I presume that adding the root powder to boiling water, that has been removed from the stove, stirring the mixture and then cooling it, would be a way to reliably increase yield.

After that, the water must be removed, say, through evaporation at a temperature that preserve as many kavalactones as possible.

Now. The Fiji Kava Quality manual states that an oven temperature of no more than 60 C is recommended, when drying the fresh kava roots, so I'm guessing that this temperature may also work for slowly evaporating the water off the kavalactones, until it turns into a concentrate.

Your Thoughts
What do you think about the procedure?

Usage
Oh. And if you are wondering why I am doing it. I am creating kava candy, that can be held in the mouth for effects or dissolved in water, to create a tasty kava drink. I'd like to be able to ingest it discretely in social venues and openly among friends, in the water mixture, as to blend in with the alcohol culture.

I have already tested the candy recipe with solved extracted kava and it dissolves completely in water, which I anticipate the the water-based concentrate will do as well.

http://m.imgur.com/ImM3RWz

But Bill kept the Windows

True story; it even happened last night. My 5-year-old son walks up behind me and out of the blue says, "hey."

I turn to him and say, "yeah, kiddo? What's up?"

He responds, "it's dead grass."

I'm really confused and trying to figure out what's wrong and what he wants from me. "What? There's dead grass? What's wrong with that?"

.

.

.

He says, totally straight-faced, "hay is dead grass," and runs off.

You officially hit rock bottom

And then you will all be sorry.

No it doesn't.

Now it’s syncing.

He replied, "Well, stop going to those places then!"

I will find you. You have my Word.

She said how do you know he was headed to work?

Kava, Piper methysticum, has been used for many different reasons across the millennia and Pacific ocean. It was and continues to be a major part of religious, political, and social activities among those cultures of the Pacific, today. In Tonga, the institution of kava practice included values of dedication, sacrifice, responsibility, and conflict resolution (Tecun, Reeves, and Wolfgramm 2020). Kava has been known by Pacifikans as a relaxant and social lubricant. Kava is used in both festive ceremonial events, and daily secular social life. It’s used in events such as electing a new chief, marriage and death ceremonies and important meetings locally all the way to the national level (Sofer 2007). Conflict resolution is an important part of life in Fiji. Yaqona ceremonies often consume half of the day if not more before touching the important issues. The kava ceremony guarantees a platform and a body where opponents can talk in a modest atmosphere and settle situations without “losing their temper”(Mückler, n.d.). In Fiji, in personal conflict resolution, an offender presents kava to the person he or she has harmed, and the result is to restore normal relations between them (Arno 1976). Kava’s effects play into this atmosphere as being soporific. It numbs the drinker and promotes feelings of sociability (Tomlinson 2004). Unlike with alcohol, kava drinkers do not become angry, irritated, or noisy. They typically demonstrated calmness, harmony, joy, friendliness, and sociability. (Volgin et al. 2020) In 1937 kava’s effects were described as “You feel friendly...never cross...you cannot hate with kava in you” (Harrison 1937). Kava is a universal equalizer in conflict resolution. Scores of generations before us have made good use of this plant to further discourse and find peaceful resolution between parties. In this current interpersonal climate, I sincerely hope we in the west can respect kava enough to find these same special functions socially.

Arno, Andrew. 1976. “Ritual of Reconciliation and Village Conflict Management in Fiji.” Oceania; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Native Peoples of Australia, New Guinea, and the Islands of the Pacific 47 (1): 49–65.

Harrison, Tom. 1937. “Savage Civilisation.” Nature 139 (3518): 568–69.

Mückler, Hermann. n.d. “Chiefs, Coups and Kava: Conflicts and Conflict Resolution in Fiji.”

Sofer, Michael. 2007. “Yaqona and the Fijian Periphery Revisited.” Asia Pacific Viewpoint 48 (2): 234–49.

Tecun

“thank you for your cervix.”

...sails are going through the roof.