WTH? Kava CAN be sold in Aussie when it's labelled as "a complementary medicine"?

[TheKavaSociety]

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=302983

"THE move to make kava use illegal in Australia will only make matters worse for a few hundred Australians who drink kava, says South Pacific Elixirs CEO and founder Zane Yoshida. He expressed disappointment at the Australian Government's proposed ban on kava for personal and cultural use.
His company, which produced the flavoured Taki Mai kava supplement drink, also had plans to launch the product in Australia this year. However, he said, if the ban was imposed, it would not affect his business as the ban did not cover kava products produced and sold as complementary medicine in Australia.
"Australia promotes itself as a multicultural country and yet they are proposing a ban on kava that will have a great impact and effect on tens of thousands of Pacific Islanders who drink kava for traditional and cultural purposes," Mr Yoshida said."

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Nice. Little law loopholes will be sewn up as soon as they're exploited I assume. But until then, I'm gonna corner the Aussie market with my lecithin supplement that also happens to have complimentary kava mixed with it.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

@Crunked and @Kavo should start importing complimentary medicine

 

[kavadude]

Well that's the CEO of a business saying that's how he's going to do it. If he's taking on investments, he needs something to mollify his investors. Only way to find out if it works legally is by going through with it.

 

[Kavo]

@Henry It can be imported if it's been approved as an ARTG approved complimentary medicine so it is still regulated by them.
In other words Oz people can import capsules and such if they are approved and registered. If you're in the Medical profession though it can be imported for research or medical purposes.
I think if it is a food or beverage though, then it falls under the Oz and NZ rules......crazy place!

 

[Kavo]

...Lest We forget @Henry

 

[mjazzguitar]

I might write to some mainstream papers over there in defense of kava.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I might write to some mainstream papers over there in defense of kava.

Where? In Germany?

 

[mjazzguitar]

Where? In Germany?

Aren't they talking about Australia?

 

[verticity]

Aren't they talking about Australia?

They are. Writing letters to the editor of major papers there is a good idea; probably they are more likely to be published if written by Australians. Likewise, if any German speaking members here want to write letters to German papers, that would be awesome, too.

 

[Kavo]

NOOOOOOOO do not write anything to the Media please I beg you!!!

We really need a repository of truths and solid articles here( hint hint )from those who have studied and published papers with actual data so we can draw from that when the time is right.

The MSM here spins stuff so far from the truth that anyone reading it or watching the resultant stories on the TV will agree that Kava is BAD...it's a drug out of control and needs to be stopped. It happens every time someone goes to them, then we can't even talk about it amongst ourselves. It has happened so many times it aint funny.

I live in a "multi-cultural" town and one major Newspaper came out to interview a really nice Muslim family I know. They cherry picked what they chose and added stuff that they never said. Our local rag rebutted them as it made us look like the outback Muslim town that was overrun by extremists! That is no lie.

In the e-cig community here,the MSM came to the Forum and asked if anybody would like to be interviewed...not once but 3 times. Most told them where to go but some with vested interests in their own safe business agreed. The result from that was a spliced up version of our mission and went to air on the TV,Newspapers and several radio talk back stations....once again spun to make it look like it was worse than smoking or as bad. I walked past a shop here where they sold cigalikes and was told that my Vape was Illegal! If they had have stuck with Dr. Farsilonis and other experts who actually studied the health effects for many years, then we could have presented a decent case. If they hadn't have had dedicated threads that anyone could read planning what to do, then they wouldn't have joined and caused so much grief that ended up seeing W.A. ban the devices under an old Cigarette Candy clause that was taken out of context,yet enforced. Unfortunately when the masses get half baked info,they stick with it so it makes it even harder.

We also have these "panel" TV shows with the token "sober comedian" to grease things,make the audience laugh and they take it all way out of context leaving the audience believing absolute tripe.

Back further in time,we had a blanket ban on plants that they had to review(due to us correcting them) as it made our National Emblem an Illegal Plant and many oldies criminals overnight.

I still can't believe how many people in Oz watch and believe "reality TV"!

COP's,Border Security,InkMaster,fix this house up crap,the many Tow-Away shows...people here think they are actually real.

 

[verticity]

NOOOOOOOO do not write anything to the Media please I beg you!!!

We really need a repository of truths and solid articles here( hint hint )from those who have studied and published papers with actual data so we can draw from that when the time is right.

The MSM here spins stuff so far from the truth that anyone reading it or watching the resultant stories on the TV will agree that Kava is BAD...it's a drug out of control and needs to be stopped. It happens every time someone goes to them, then we can't even talk about it amongst ourselves. It has happened so many times it aint funny.

I live in a "multi-cultural" town and one major Newspaper came out to interview a really nice Muslim family I know. They cherry picked what they chose and added stuff that they never said. Our local rag rebutted them as it made us look like the outback Muslim town that was overrun by extremists! That is no lie.

In the e-cig community here,the MSM came to the Forum and asked if anybody would like to be interviewed...not once but 3 times. Most told them where to go but some with vested interests in their own safe business agreed. The result from that was a spliced up version of our mission and went to air on the TV,Newspapers and several radio talk back stations....once again spun to make it look like it was worse than smoking or as bad. I walked past a shop here where they sold cigalikes and was told that my Vape was Illegal! If they had have stuck with Dr. Farsilonis and other experts who actually studied the health effects for many years, then we could have presented a decent case. If they hadn't have had dedicated threads that anyone could read planning what to do, then they wouldn't have joined and caused so much grief that ended up seeing W.A. ban the devices under an old Cigarette Candy clause that was taken out of context,yet enforced. Unfortunately when the masses get half baked info,they stick with it so it makes it even harder.

We also have these "panel" TV shows with the token "sober comedian" to grease things,make the audience laugh and they take it all way out of context leaving the audience believing absolute tripe.

Back further in time,we had a blanket ban on plants that they had to review(due to us correcting them) as it made our National Emblem an Illegal Plant and many oldies criminals overnight.

I still can't believe how many people in Oz watch and believe "reality TV"!

COP's,Border Security,InkMaster,fix this house up crap,the many Tow-Away shows...people here think they are actually real.

Thank you for that perspective. The Oz media does sound horrible from your description. But I would still suggest that is not a reason to remain silent. Don't you have local newspapers that would publish a letter to the editor? I don't know though, you are the expert on your country.

The golden wattle was a controlled substance? That's actually kind of hilarious. (September 1st is National Wattle Day!)

 

[Kavo]

Hey @verticity Believe me bro, they are total spin doctors .With the NT Health Minister now pushing to remove our "right" to even carry 2KG's on our person from OS,I wouldn't be poking the bear as it would raise the issue higher.
Like the proposed E-Cig ban in the US atm,I think we should all unite like organisations such as C.A.S.S.A. has to fight it with real studies at the ready.
As it stands now,if the FDA has their way,then all mod's/atty's etc will be banned by Jan 2016 and Vapers will have to go back to smokes or buy the Big Baccy owned $10 disposables. @Kapmcrunk do you think we could have a pinned thread with links to all the studies and organisations so no matter which Country comes under attack, we can draw real up to date information to defend our position on this issue?
I feel we should all unite no matter where we hail from for it's our human right that no Gov't body should be allowed to interfere with. You only have to read the success stories here to know how useful and safe this plant is with education and the already self-regulated Noble Certification in place. Besides,they are plants and Plants aren't drugs.

Yep,the Golden Wattle is an Acacia and most contain Tryptamines. Not all contain DMT but most have Analogues like 5-MEO and such. The Cootamundra Wattle has 5-MEO-DMT and also traces of N,M-DMT depending on the season. Certainly not worthwhile extracting. As I said, it was a blanket ban but they got the 3 they wanted banned in the end.
That's how they roll here...ban happy with no idea

 

[kasa_balavu]

Well that's the CEO of a business saying that's how he's going to do it. If he's taking on investments, he needs something to mollify his investors. Only way to find out if it works legally is by going through with it.

This shipment is Australia bound:


And take a look at this jar:


Note the presence of an "AUST L" number on the front.

Medicines in Australia are either Registered (R) or Listed (L). Registered medicines are assessed for quality, safety and efficacy, while Listed medicines are only assessed for quality and safety. Here are the listings:
Powder: http://www.tga.gov.au/artg/artg-id-238778
Capsules: http://www.tga.gov.au/artg/artg-id-247412


So I did a search of the database going only as far back as 2010 and there are 3 others:
Nature's Sunshine Kava Calm - 2012 - http://www.naturessunshine.com.au/products/product-roots/kava-calm-139.html
Thomsons One-A-Day Kava 2400 - 2013 - http://www.thompsons.co.nz/products/one-a-day-herbs/one-a-day-kava-2400mg-tablets/
Kava 4200 - 2013 - http://www.thompsons.co.nz/products/one-a-day-herbs/one-a-day-kava-2400mg-tablets/

So Taki Mai are the only ones importing kava powder into Australia. I assume any other vendors who want to access that market need to have their facilities certified to HACCP and cGMP standards so Australia can tick off the "quality" and "safety" checkboxes. You'd probably also have to change your packaging to look more medicine-like, and maybe only distribute via pharmacists/chemists?