Going kava

Is kava the drug of the future? How would New Zealand change, if Kiwis swapped alcohol, P and the rest of our unhealthy drugs for the ancient elixir of the Pacific? In a piece for The Spinoff I've visited the kava clubs of Nuku'alofa and Port Vila, and talked a little about the developing kava scene in Auckland.  

Readers have noticed that the article contains a blunder. I claim to be able to buy half a kilogram of kava for six bucks at my local dairy in West Auckland. In fact, the bag I typically buy from my mates at the dairy weighs about one hundred and fifty rather than five hundred grams. Some readers have warned me that the stuff I'm buying is probably poor quality kava, and might even be mixed with flour. Kava prices are at a record high, partly because the drug is winning new fans in the West, and one hundred grams of good stuff ought to be costing me more than six bucks.