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Kava importing banned to curb indigenous intoxication
Ashleigh Wilson
June 27, 2007
IMPORTING kava has been banned by the federal Government to reduce the spread of the intoxicating Pacific drink in remote Aboriginal communities.
Amid concerns about the effects of legalised kava use in Arnhem Land, importation of the drug into Australia has been made illegal except for medical or scientific purposes.
The move was welcomed by the Northern Territory Government, which has long lobbied for kava imports to be banned despite legalising its use in four remote indigenous communities.
The restrictions, which officially came into effect on Tuesday, still allow for the importation of up to 2kg of kava in the baggage of incoming adult passengers to Australia.
Health Minister Tony Abbott and Customs Minister David Johnston said in a statement that the limited availability of kava was in recognition of the “traditional ceremonial and cultural” role it held for local Pacific Islanders.
But they said the restrictions on imports were necessary to combat kava abuse and health problems in Aboriginal communities.
“Kava abuse has become an increasingly serious problem in indigenous communities over recent years with the health effects becoming more severe in communities where kava use is not traditional and where excessive consumption occurs,” the ministers said.
Kava spread quickly across Arnhem Land after it was introduced to Aboriginal communities in the early 1980s in an attempt to reduce the high rate of alcohol abuse.
In 2002, the Northern Territory Government moved to curb the black market by legalising kava in four remote communities in northeast Arnhem Land. But the stupefying drug is regularly smuggled into larger communities such as Maningrida, along with cannabis and alcohol.
Territory Licensing Minister Chris Burns said he supported the importation ban in principle. However Dr Burns said he would write to Mr Abbott requesting a meeting to discuss the issue, saying issues such as whether the ban was permanent remained unclear.
The Australian