Up in smoke

[nabanga]

http://dailypost.vu/news/vt-million...cle_474996bd-fe35-58a9-a22a-6af21229da58.html

Around two tonnes of kava worth over Vt6 million was destroyed yesterday by the Biosecurity Department.

The action took pace after tests found that the kava was not of the noble variety.

Biosecurity Director, Mr Tumukon says the kava was the wild variety from Malampa Province, in different areas on Ambrym and Malekula.

He said Biosecurity officers were alerted by kava buyers that they had received consignments of 74 bags from the two islands that were of wild variety.

“We are collecting information about these kava growers and a stern warning will be issued to them to uproot their kava or not to touch these kava varieties as they are considered as weeds in the islands.

“They have conducted illegal activities in terms of trade of kava and should it happen again in the future we will find ways of prosecuting them,” Mr Tumukon said. He said under the revised Kava Act, there are penalties that allow for prosecution of anyone that contravenes the law.

Biosecurity Analyst, Joanna Allanson, says their findings from samples was that the kava was in the range of wild kava.

“We categorize kava in four different groups which are the noble varieties, narafala kava, medicinal kava and wild kava.


“Unfortunately for this kava exporter, our finding is that the kava was of the wild variety,” she told Kizzy Kalsakau from 96 FM News.

Mr Tumukon said the huge amount of money lost in this case should be a huge lesson to everyone that is preparing kava for export.

“We have tightened our export requirements, meaning that we are likely to catch you if you are preparing kava for export that is not of the noble varieties.

“The government does not encourage trade of wild kava anywhere, even in the local market we will never, ever encourage that,” he said.

Kava exporters are encouraged to contact the Biosecurity Department at all times to conduct tests.



[email protected]

Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Wild kava headed for retail, that's how deep it's gettin'!
Hmm, now I wonder if any of that got shipped before it got caught.
Wild kava chemotypes can be so wonky, compared to regular stuff, even tudei...I assume you'd notice the difference pretty quick. I'll try it someday.

 

[recentreturn]

I wonder how they tested that? Were these people actually planting and growing P. Wichmanii?

 

[kasa_balavu]

Were these people actually planting and growing P. Wichmanii?

It grows wild in the forest.

 

[The Kap'n]

That's a lot of work to see up in smoke, however the rules are rules for a good reason. Wild kava showing up on your doorstep in the disguise of a package plastered with "noble" is not what you want. I've had awful tudei, and I don't even want to know what wild kava could do.

I do wonder how the process went and if there were any appeals or even an appeals process. That's almost $55,000 worth of kava, and I bet it didn't go down quietly.

 

[Intrepidus_dux]

Wild is considered not good for human consumption right? I wonder what happens when a person consumes it. Do they get nausea or something else?

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I've been talking to @nemo recently, as a frequent visitor he's getting a 1st hand view of how the Vila nakamal/kava scene is changing.
Wild kava has entered the scene, here's a quick quote:

Ok so general talk about - there’s just no noble about...what little there is..is watered down to fuck but most that understand say there’s none.
I had 2 nights on tudai mixed with a wild. My kava aussie friends that live here say wild is the next level past tudai. Farrrk man it smashed me & put me in bed for 2 days ...still not great

Yeah it’s disgusting to drink & frankly I will not return until I know good supply of noble is up & running again It’s really hard on you days after. You feel crook in the guts but also groggy. It smashes you (not as good as a fresh strong noble though) but it’s different. Like a diff feeling sort of in & out of reality in a mild way

I've got more quotes from him, about the scene, I'll post later.

 

[recentreturn]

I've been talking to @nemo recently, as a frequent visitor he's getting a 1st hand view of how the Vila nakamal/kava scene is changing.
Wild kava has entered the scene, here's a quick quote:



I've got more quotes from him, about the scene, I'll post later.

Sounds horrible. And interesting...

 

[recentreturn]

FYI, Fake News is being circulated that the kava burned was tudei, this is clearly not the case:

Biosecurity Analyst, Joanna Allanson, says their findings from samples was that the kava was in the range of wild kava.
“We categorize kava in four different groups which are the noble varieties, narafala kava, medicinal kava and wild kava.
“Unfortunately for this kava exporter, our finding is that the kava was of the wild variety,”
Source: Vanuatu Daily Post

omg; the fake news sounds like the product of a lunatic. Fake or not, sounding less crazy would make the arguments seem much more credible. You just can't claim there's a massive international conspiracy without sounding nuts. I'm sad to see the said news outlet might be winding down; but I can't say I'm surprised as it seems to have shifted completely away from kava to an unending political commentary about boring controversies; reminds me very much of other topic-oriented blogs that suddenly decided their new main topic would be photos of what they ate for lunch. Its the blog-owner's prerogative; but if its boring... (FYI, I actually check that site because I LIKE the site (or WANT to) and keep hoping it will come back to kava, not chemtrails.)

 

[nabanga]

I've been talking to @nemo recently, as a frequent visitor he's getting a 1st hand view of how the Vila nakamal/kava scene is changing.
Wild kava has entered the scene, here's a quick quote:



I've got more quotes from him, about the scene, I'll post later.

I'm in Vila now for a few days break from Santo, and there is still decent kava to be had, but you have to be selective about where you go. Some of the popular expat places serve rubbish. Almost everywhere serves small shells, but there is plenty noble around - the ships are coming in from Pentecost, Maewo & Santo. Certainly not as dire as I had heard.

Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

I'm in Vila now for a few days break from Santo, and there is still decent kava to be had, but you have to be selective about where you go. Some of the popular expat places serve rubbish. Almost everywhere serves small shells, but there is plenty noble around - the ships are coming in from Pentecost, Maewo & Santo. Certainly not as dire as I had heard.

Sent from my BLL-L22 using Tapatalk

He did mention that with some hunting he was still able to find decent kava, such as at Annie's Nakamal on Pango rd near Breakers. But in general he was very disappointed that almost all of his usual spots were super weak now or serving weird gnarly stuff. He said he could chug an entire 600 ml plastik and barely feel anything from most places, and these were places where 3 shells used to "take his legs from him". It should be noted that @nemo was known to be a major hard-head (tanker) when it comes to kava consumption. He said he was disappointed enough that after 10 years of visits, he doesn't intend on going back until he hears that the scene is back up or otherwise, he'll start going to Santo.

 

[kastom_lif]

The pressure to keep the kava flowing is real. This was posted on YTS the other day.



There were more replies against such practices than in favor of. But there will always be shady characters looking to make quick money. Word gets around if somebody is selling rubbish kava.