Statement from Dr. Schmidt

[Zaphod]

Not that I disagree with Dr. Schmidt's positions, but shouldn't this statement:
Dr. Schmidt says the five pharmaceutical company form a task force to fight against the decision of the German authorities (on kava), and he is their scientific expert.
give us a bit of pause? If you told me in the US that the scientific expert that represents 5 large pharmaceutical companies was giving his "opinion" on something I would automatically assume that what he was really giving was, as a paid consultant, the opinion of what was in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies? Not that their opinions are necessarily wrong, but they should be taken with a grain of salt no?

 

[kasa_balavu]

Put yourself in the shoes of a pharmaceutical company. What do you think would be in their best interest? If you have trouble doing that, don't worry... they showed us two decades ago. They are the ones who urged farmers to forsake traditional knowledge for commercial gain. The current situation is borne out of their need for high-kavalactone kava. The current glut of tudei in Vanuatu that Peter Colmar et al are trying to get rid of is a result of "Big Pharma" saying that's the type of kava they want to buy.

As I see it, they would benefit more than anyone else from tudei kava.

The interests of "Big Pharma" happen to align with the interests of "Big Kava" (the big US importers) fronted by the AKA. The only difference is that "Big Pharma" have been once bitten before and apparently learnt their lesson. "Big Kava", having never been shut down by govt before and operating in a nation where kava is more secure, don't consider the risks great enough to temper their greed.

 

[Deleted User01]

The FDA has already been told what is good and what is bad and they made their decision to leave kava along as a result. If you change the game, then they change the game. In fact, Vanuatu is wooing the EU in the hopes that safe noble kava will win the day and get them back into the market. For those that crave Tudei, go for it. But don't go telling the world that there is nothing wrong with it. Keep it to yourself and have a good time (if that's what it takes for you to have a good time). With the current administration, one tweet could put kava in the toilet.