Interesting article about the Australian pilot program. As is tradition, the paper goes on to cite some of the "harms" seen with kava.
Here is where they get their "harms"
Butt, Julia. 2019.
Kava Usage in Aboriginal and Pacific Islander Communities in Australia. National Drug Research Institute.
https://healthbulletin.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/kava-bulletin-web.pdf
Mathews, J. D., M. D. Riley, L. Fejo, E. Munoz, N. R. Milns, I. D. Gardner, J. R. Powers, E. Ganygulpa, and B. J. Gununuwawuy. 1988. “Effects of the Heavy Usage of Kava on Physical Health: Summary of a Pilot Survey in an Aboriginal Community.”
The Medical Journal of Australia 148 (11): 548–55.
https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1988.tb93809.x.
What's funny is that these are ALWAYS the source when "kava harms" are cited, and I would suggest giving these two papers a read, as they're full of inaccuracies, and incorrect conclusions. The Butt paper (lol) simply postulates ideas with no backing evidence as "possible". My favorite part is how it says kava withdrawal may be associated with seizures, and heart disease, which is hilariously wrong.
The Mathews papers is a great study into the malnutrition and general poor health of an impoverished subjugated aboriginal community of Australia, however it reflects nothing about the general effects of kava other than maybe a raised GGT value in especially heavy users which has been tied to adaptation, and not toxicity. I only say this about GGT because it's been replicated in other studies (Brown et al 2007).
Brown, Amy C., Janet Onopa, Peter Holck, Pakieli Kaufusi, Derek Kabasawa, Winston J. Craig, Klaus Dragull, Arieh M. Levine, and Jonathan D. Baker. 2007. “Traditional Kava Beverage Consumption and Liver Function Tests in a Predominantly Tongan Population in Hawaii.”
Clinical Toxicology 45 (5): 549–56.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650701365875.