Kava prosecutions originated locally

Pitua was charged with drunken driving after California Highway Patrol officers pulled him over for allegedly swerving. Ptiua drank about a dozen cups of kava tea before he drove.

More recently, a San Mateo County Superior Court judge threw out the jurisdiction's second case last Friday.

Judge Marta Diaz dismissed the charges against 26-year-old Sione Olive, who was arrested June 17 while driving on U.S. Highway 101. He was returning from San Mateo's Shoreline Church, where he had just consumed 23 cups

of kava tea during a religious function.

Diaz cited a "a lack of evidence" from prosecutors to demonstrate that the kava impaired Olive's driving when he was given a D.U.I.

However, prosecutors were not satisfied with this decision and have requested a transcript of in-court statements to consider preparing an appeal.

Kava has been used in social and religious rituals for more than 3,000 years among people of the South Pacific and in Polynesian cultures. It is a member of the pepper family and is primarily used in the U.S. as a muscle relaxant and stress reliever.

Danelle Street, who specializes in supplements at Earthbeam, a health food store on Broadway in Burlingame said kava is popular among customers at the store.

There are no documented side effects from kava when it is taken in the recommended daily amount of 180 to 210 mg. If a person took more than suggested it might have more of an effect, Street said. "It is a muscle relaxant, but you are still fully coherent," she added. "Your mind is not cloudy at all."

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