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and drink kava. It can be seen that kava's ongoing use slays within its traditional environments for some, while for others there is a shift in the duspora with new user groups, who position the drink and its asso- ciated practices as identifiably Pasifikan (Aporosa, 2015; Lebot et al., 1997). r.�va rnyci _ _ The 'kava is alcohol' myth is believed to have started when Johann Forster (1754-1794), a naturalist aboard Captain James Conk's Endeavour, gave kava its botan- ical name Piper methysticum. Methysticum is a Greek word meaning intoxicating', or according to Forster, 'intoxicating pepper' — Piper methrsticum (Singh and Blumenthal, 1997; Steinmetz, 1960). Added to this myth, was a report that masticating kava during prep- aration, 'transformed the starch of the root into sugar, and that this by fermentation turned into alcohol' (Lewin, 1998: 185)_ Further, after drawing on an early 1800s report from Fiji, Thorn and Warton (1925) were adamant kava was 'liquor... [with] its effects being similar to that of laudanum' (102). Norton and Ruze (1994:93) suggest that early European accounts of kava drinking not only associated kava with alcohol, but also opium, which further maligned kava's reputation_ Churchill (2010) suggests that from the outset, kava's botanical name suggested kava had an `intoxicating quality', and that this made 'it more difficult to correct the error' (57). Kava is not alcoholic; it is 'nonfermented, non-alcoholic, nonopioid, [and] nonhallucinogenic' (Norton and Raze, 1994: 93), pro- ducng La pleasant, warm, and cheerful, but lazy feeling, [making people sociable, though not hilarious or loquacious; the reason is not obscured' (Hocart, 1929; 59). Aronson (2008) removes ambiguity when he stated, 'Reason and consciousness remain unaffected' (183). Professor Peter D'Abbs (1995), from the Darwin School of Medicine, vendes that kava use will 'not lead to violent behavior' often associated with alcohol use, docs net 'befuddle the mind and can be used to stimulate clear-headed discussion' (169). Where alcohol The serving of kaw from a designated bowl to drinkers suing on woven mars on the floor (photographer: Todd Henry, ID V, 2018).