boxcar beatnik
Kava Enthusiast
That's a beautiful poem, thanks for posting it!
eBay bans K4V4.(?)
- Thread starter sɥɐʞɐs
- Start date
Blinkyrocket
Kava Enthusiast
This is absolutely one of the most frustrating things, in a long time. Ugh, being unable to tell someone they're factually incorrect... So bad. 
I speak, specifically, about the part where people think Kava is dangerous to the liver, but, I'm also generally frustrated with the ban(s).
I speak, specifically, about the part where people think Kava is dangerous to the liver, but, I'm also generally frustrated with the ban(s).
I've been checking eBay every couple weeks since I heard about this and it's still unclear what happened. Something definitely happened because about 3 weeks ago the ONLY kava on eBay was pills, tinctures and other ironically shitty kavas from big herbal supplement companies. More recently however, I started seeing some bags of powder being sold.
I get the feeling they were trying to stop regular people or little home businesses from selling kava on eBay. Even though, that's where the legitimate was actually coming from. (Shitty kava as well, I'm sure)
So they either have a shitty, easy to bypass filter, or are slow to police the listings, or reversed their decision...or nothing ever happened but magically after years of kava powder being on eBay every day it was suddenly all gone one day except for pills and tinctures and such
When I was applying for a business credit line through a bank in CA, the sales rep (a Fijian) said that Kava was on a special list that was disallowed by the lending services.
kasa_balavu
Yaqona Dina
That's a great pity. Obviously something to do with liability, but you'd think that businesses related to alcohol would be worse in that regard. Fear of the unknown, I guess.
The best chance of getting it off that list is if the FDA gives kava GRAS status, and the only way that might happen is if efforts to get kava into the Codex succeed. Just another reason why it's so important to follow the recommendations of the kava scientists working on that effort.
SelfBiasResistor
Persist for Resistance!
The situation is more complex than that and the FDA is not the only obstacle. Additionally, the European scientists are not experts on American politics. Industry self regulation and continuing education of our elected representatives will our best chance at securing future freedom for kava. At this point, we only have one organization with the capability and understanding of the situation to do this but this community (forum) doesn't seem to want to work with them (AKA).
kasa_balavu
Yaqona Dina
I never said that it was, but I'd love to hear about the other obstacles you see. If kava is Generally Recognised As Safe, what grounds would a bank have to consider it a high-risk business?
Thankfully, US politics isn't relevant here. The FDA and USDA have a host of people working on Codex matters, and in fact they've played a significant role in getting kava put forward for Codex discussion thus far. Are you suggesting that all of this is irrelevant and that politicians decide what foods are GRAS?
I disagree. The kava industry is minuscule and US politicians have no reason to pay the relative handful of kava drinkers any notice. As for self-regulation, there's no chance of that happening in the US kava industry dominated by kava bars owned by spice peddlers.
ApéroNoble
The d'Artagnan forum 4th Kavateer
You once said, "I'll send a notice out to our email subscribers. 20,000+"
Me nor no one I know who is a subscriber recieved an email regarding a call to action to contact their Senitors about
H.R.2851 - SITSA Act http://kavaforums.com/forum/threads/do-you-want-kava-to-stay-legal-do-something.14362/
Gitter dunn Judd
The bill has already passed the house.
SelfBiasResistor
Persist for Resistance!
Banks aren't only denying herb/supplement business accounts because of high risk but also because of the ban happy environment we are in. Psychoactive plants are always going to be threatened because of the general publics fear of the unknown, disinformation campaigns and corporate interests. Other obstacles would be state/county/city bans or federal bans. SITSA has recently gained some momentum and there are other similar bills being floated that could net a lot of unintended herbs. SITSA, specifically, is very dangerous since it gives the power to ban to one man (who is is not a fan of psychoactive/medicinal plants). FDA GRAS status won't matter once a substance is banned locally or added to a state or federal controlled substance list.
Yes, it will be irrelevant in the case of a ban because the ban would happen outside of the FDA's authority. Politicians do not decide what substances are GRAS but they do have to approve of additions to the federal CSA. Likewise, state representatives (in most states) authorize additions to individual state controlled substance lists.
Our elected representatives are elected to voice our opinions for us rather than push somebody else's agenda. One good thing that I've observed through this so far failed attempt of the DEA ban on K@ is that most of our representatives do indeed listen to us, even if the numbers aren't massive. Getting the message to them is the challenge in smaller communities which is why the need for an organization to assist in leading the way and making sure voices are heard at the right time is so vital.
You can laugh but Tyler seems to understand the challenges better than anyone. At least he hasn't spent years sowing the seed that large numbers of kava cultivars are likely dangerous.