1081 replies to this topic

[vettenorlando]

Kava Will show up in a drug test so those of us who are subjected to random drug tests to keep our job may need to think twice about imbibing. :dltears:

What is in it that sets off a drug test? Amphetamines? Cocaine? Barbituates?

Dan,

The active ingredients in Kava are Kavalactones that are sold as herbal supplements in Germany and Australia but not approved in the US by the FDA. It's closer to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. Kavalactones have also been linked to hepatotoxity (liver damage). Anyone taking drugs that get excreted by the cytochrome 450 in the liver (statin drugs to reduce cholesterol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory like Tylenol, or even alcohol) should avoid this drink or just a little sip. Depending on which battery of tests your company run, do list that you drank some kava if you have to donate a sample within the next 6 months.

Que

Ok so you've mentioned several reasons that I should not drink this... How much of an insult is it going to be for me to refuse....????

[Big O]

I agree Vette, Im not gonna drink the stuff either. A positive wizz-quizz would really suck.

How can we still involve ourselves with the locals but respectfully pass on this stuff?

Dave

[Terri]

I'm getting in around 12:00 on Sunday and was thinking about renting a car to do something during the day. I went to the aquarium in Long Beach about 4 years ago and was really impressed...and was thinking about hitting that again.

Anyone else want to join along?

[AliKat]

Kava Will show up in a drug test so those of us who are subjected to random drug tests to keep our job may need to think twice about imbibing. :dltears:

What is in it that sets off a drug test? Amphetamines? Cocaine? Barbituates?

Dan,

The active ingredients in Kava are Kavalactones that are sold as herbal supplements in Germany and Australia but not approved in the US by the FDA. It's closer to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. Kavalactones have also been linked to hepatotoxity (liver damage). Anyone taking drugs that get excreted by the cytochrome 450 in the liver (statin drugs to reduce cholesterol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory like Tylenol, or even alcohol) should avoid this drink or just a little sip. Depending on which battery of tests your company run, do list that you drank some kava if you have to donate a sample within the next 6 months.

Que

Ok so you've mentioned several reasons that I should not drink this... How much of an insult is it going to be for me to refuse....????

I think we may be making more of this than we need to.

Que, what does it show up as in a drug screen? Since I don't think anyone in the US (or anywhere) tests for Kavalactones, it must be a by-product that shows up as something routinely abused and tested for, in this country?

Also, remember that NONE of the herbal suppliments legally sold in the US are "approved" by the FDA. That's been a heated debate for sometime now. Kava can not only be legally ordered over the internet and shipped to the US, its actually made in several places in Hawaii. I took Kava (in capsule form) for several years, while in the Navy, and never popped on a drug screen. Also, I found the following on a WEB search that would indicate what I was doing was MUCH worse than the one gulp we will be given (see below). Personally, I'm much more worried about the horrible taste I've heard so much about...I'll chance my swig.

Dr Naiker presented findings of research on 'Major Chemical Differences between Water extracts of Kava and Kava Pills' at the two-day 'Pacific Kava Research Symposium' held recently at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (FORSEC), Suva, Fiji. The Symposium was jointly organised by USP, Fiji School of Medicine (FSM), Fiji's Ministry of Health, FORSEC and the World Health Organization (WHO). "The water extracts of kava contain mainly water soluble products such as carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids," Dr Naiker said. "Very small amounts of water insoluble kava resins containing kavalactones get filtered through."

High concentrations of kavalactones on their own may cause stress on the liver, but the presence of glutathione from root-only kava extracts would be highly beneficial to avoiding undue stress on the liver," Dr Naiker said.

Tests conducted by the department has revealed that alcohol extraction of kava roots yield 10-15 per cent of kava resins, 50-60 per cent of which contain kavalactones. Water extracts of the same kava roots yield only 6-8 per cent of kava resins. "Therefore, the water extracted 'grog' consumed in the South Pacific, will contain only 3-4 per cent kavalactones," Dr Naiker said.

"It is quite clear that the water extract consumed in the South Pacific contain far lesser kavalactones than the concentrated standardized kava extracts sold in Europe and USA," Dr Naiker said.

The presence of glutathione in the kava water extracts and its absence in many he kava pills is therefore, one of the reasons why liver toxicity cases are only reported in Western countries where the kava pills are consumed, as opposed to the traditionally consumed water extracts of kava in the Pacific."

[WillDiveForBeer]

4. HAPPY HOUR ANNOUNCEMENT: Our Happy Hour will be at the Embassy Suite (the SOUTH location NOT the north location as there are two locations. The SOUTH location is FAR NICER than the north one so that is why Que chose that one!) You can catch the courtesy shuttle from the airport with your luggage as Que has a suite that we can store our luggage in. It is HIGHLY recommended that you keep your luggage with you and personally check it thru when you check yourself in as most people lose luggage when they allow one airline to transfer to another on their behalf.

a. Please bring your own alcohal/booze aka BYOB. (Que will arrive in LA early and procure softdrinks/mixers for our SD Happy Hour. She will also get some munchies for everyone!) 
b. If you do NOT want to bring your own booze/wine you can share with someone else or you can buy directly from the local bar. (However local drinks tend to be expensive and watered down.)
c. Whatever we don't finish we can discretely consume in Fiji! 
d. We will also distribute your SD.com t-shirts to you at the Happy Hour and/or prior to departure!

HAPPY HOUR UPDATE:
When you get to LAX on Sunday, please procceed with your luggage and catch a courtesy shuttle from Embassy Suite (the SOUTH location and not the north location). You could use the courtesy phone at the lodging kiosh by luggage claim to call Embassy Suite and let them know which luggage claim area you're at and then proceed to the curb to catch the shuttle. If this does not work, call my cellular phone 972-342-3260, and I'll come and get you.

I'm still working with the hotel about getting a sign up with the rooms we're in but the backup plan is to call my cellular phone and we'll tell you which rooms we're partying in.

I'm landing in LAX around 9AM so should have plenty of time to get munchies and mixers. Bring your favorite liquor or if you have a special request, PM me. We'll have some appetizers (FIRM) and possibly dinner (I'm still negotiating prices). The restaurant at this location (not the North location) is pretty good but a little bit pricey. The back-up plan is for us to pick up take-outs and we do have a microwave for others arriving later.

The official time for this event is 6PM to 9PM (that's when the food is there) but feel free to come earlier as you get to the airport. We can head back to the airport via the courtesy shuttle at whatever time each of us feel comfortable but I'll be at the hotel until 10:30PM.

I'll have the SD twister game donated by Michelle from Grenada so we'll see what other games we can come up with.

Are we there yet?
Que

We are on an international flight, isn't our checkin 2 hours in advanced, making you leaving the hotel at 10:30pm a little late? Some carriers can close International flights 40 minutes prior to departure? Plus, if we don't have seat assignments and we are a group of 25, wouldn't it make more sense to be at the gate around 8:30pm? It's going to take us 1 hour to check all of us in, maybe a little longer. This would give us as a group, enough time to checkin, get our seat assignments, addition of flier account info and account for any problems. If we get through quickly without any problems, we can just chill at a bar in the airport.

[Desert_Diver]

Here's a good link on the Kava ceremony. Apparently, it's perfectly OK to pass on drinking it. It can't be a lot worse than Poi, so I'm game...

http://www.fijibure.com/kava.htm

Quote: "It is quite acceptable to refuse to drink Kava. Simply put your hand up and shake your head when it is presented to you in a bowl. There is no insult to your host host and no explanation needed."

There's also a further link on that page to an MPEG video on the proper way to participate, in case you're up to the challenge.

[Sonny Beaches]

[quote name='WillDiveForBeer' date='Oct 19 2005, 07:09 PM']

[/QUOTE]
Does your phone operate in the 900MHz band? I supposedly got a crack for my phone which will enable it, hopefully it will work. What make and model phone do you have?

-Mike- [/quote]
I have a motorola v-66, it is a tri band phone, and should work, according to T-mobils' web-site.

[landlocked]

Thanks for all the research on Telecoms in Kadavu. I just need to verify my modem is 900mhz. I just got a new phone so it might not be quad, but I do really appreciate all the research. And the fee for internet access is pretty much the same as a cruise ship and well worth it if it keeps things from falling apart back here!

See you guys soon!!!

mandi

[Dejah]

I hope you all have a wonderful safe trip... I look forward to seeing pictures and hearing about it upon your return.

[Blublood]

[quote name='AliKat' date='Oct 19 2005, 09:55 PM']

The active ingredients in Kava are Kavalactones that are sold as herbal supplements in Germany and Australia but not approved in the US by the FDA. It's closer to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. Kavalactones have also been linked to hepatotoxity (liver damage). Anyone taking drugs that get excreted by the cytochrome 450 in the liver (statin drugs to reduce cholesterol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory like Tylenol, or even alcohol) should avoid this drink or just a little sip. Depending on which battery of tests your company run, do list that you drank some kava if you have to donate a sample within the next 6 months.

Que [/color] [/QUOTE]
Ok so you've mentioned several reasons that I should not drink this... How much of an insult is it going to be for me to refuse....???? [/QUOTE]
I think we may be making more of this than we need to.

Que, what does it show up as in a drug screen? Since I don't think anyone in the US (or anywhere) tests for Kavalactones, it must be a by-product that shows up as something routinely abused and tested for, in this country?

Also, remember that NONE of the herbal suppliments legally sold in the US are "approved" by the FDA. That's been a heated debate for sometime now. Kava can not only be legally ordered over the internet and shipped to the US, its actually made in several places in Hawaii. I took Kava (in capsule form) for several years, while in the Navy, and never popped on a drug screen. Also, I found the following on a WEB search that would indicate what I was doing was MUCH worse than the one gulp we will be given (see below). Personally, I'm much more worried about the horrible taste I've heard so much about...I'll chance my swig.

Dr Naiker presented findings of research on 'Major Chemical Differences between Water extracts of Kava and Kava Pills' at the two-day 'Pacific Kava Research Symposium' held recently at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (FORSEC), Suva, Fiji. The Symposium was jointly organised by USP, Fiji School of Medicine (FSM), Fiji's Ministry of Health, FORSEC and the World Health Organization (WHO). "The water extracts of kava contain mainly water soluble products such as carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids," Dr Naiker said. "Very small amounts of water insoluble kava resins containing kavalactones get filtered through."

High concentrations of kavalactones on their own may cause stress on the liver, but the presence of glutathione from root-only kava extracts would be highly beneficial to avoiding undue stress on the liver," Dr Naiker said.

Tests conducted by the department has revealed that alcohol extraction of kava roots yield 10-15 per cent of kava resins, 50-60 per cent of which contain kavalactones. Water extracts of the same kava roots yield only 6-8 per cent of kava resins. "Therefore, the water extracted 'grog' consumed in the South Pacific, will contain only 3-4 per cent kavalactones," Dr Naiker said.

"It is quite clear that the water extract consumed in the South Pacific contain far lesser kavalactones than the concentrated standardized kava extracts sold in Europe and USA," Dr Naiker said.

The presence of glutathione in the kava water extracts and its absence in many he kava pills is therefore, one of the reasons why liver toxicity cases are only reported in Western countries where the kava pills are consumed, as opposed to the traditionally consumed water extracts of kava in the Pacific." [/QUOTE]
Well....I'm drinking it!!!! That is if I go....For those of you who do not know I am in the middle of some business legal battles and if it doesn't get settled by tommorrow I will have to stay here and suffer. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Edited by Blublood, 20 October 2005 - 11:37 AM.

[GentDiver]

For those of you who do not know I am in the middle of some business legal battles and if it doesn't get settled by tommorrow I will have to stay here and suffer. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Dude... that would suck if you aren't able to go. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya.

Scott

:lam:

[vettenorlando]

Is anyone leaving from Florida on Sunday? I may be delayed by the storm and curious if ayone is in the same boat. Tried to change the flight to Saturday and because the storm isn't set for a direct hit Orlando isn't on the exception list.... yet...

[Terri]

From what I've heard, Wilma will make landfall Sunday evening/Monday morning...so you should be out by then. But that was this morning...who knows what the forecast is now!

[AliKat]

For those of you who do not know I am in the middle of some business legal battles and if it doesn't get settled by tommorrow I will have to stay here and suffer. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Dude... that would suck if you aren't able to go. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya.

Scott

:lam:

But, but, but...you HAVE to go, the grass skirt and all...

[DiveCandy]

Is anyone leaving from Florida on Sunday? I may be delayed by the storm and curious if ayone is in the same boat. Tried to change the flight to Saturday and because the storm isn't set for a direct hit Orlando isn't on the exception list.... yet...

My flight leaves at 1:45 on Sunday from Orlando. Doubt Wilma will cause that much of a problem, according to current forecast. I have no plans to try to leave Saturday.

Kerry