"Most countries have legislation and policies in place to regulate the trade, production and sale of kava at both domestic and international levels. However, many of these frameworks have not been adapted to the changing landscape of how kava is imported and exported in the contemporary era or have undergone significant legislative reform since the beginning of the 21st century.
"In Europe, for example, various countries enacted a ban on the sale, distribution and medicinal use of kava following several incidents of reported liver toxicity among individuals who regularly consumed kava [7, 8]. This ban commenced in Germany in 2002, followed by the United Kingdom that same year, and then Switzerland in 2003. Other countries such as France, Canada and Japan also adopted ‘kava bans’ during this period [9-11]. In other Western countries like Australia, kava regulations have varied at different times across states [12, 13]. In New South Wales, for example, the trade and consumption of kava was banned between 2007 and 2021, but since 2022, these prohibitions have been removed [14]. By contrast, the Northern Territory enjoyed decades of uninterrupted kava trade and consumption since its inception, but as of 2020, all forms of kava in the Northern Territory have been ruled illegal [14].
"Kava continues to be variably enforced across Western, high-income countries. Although kava remains prohibited in the United Kingdom, Germany, for instance, overturned its ban on kava in 2014 after the perceived risks of harm associated with kava were deemed insufficient, or even lower than that posed by other therapeutic options [15]. Moreover, while kava remains legal in most states and territories across Australia, personal importation restrictions were relaxed in 2019, and commercial importation was permitted from 2021. Individuals are now permitted to import four kilograms of kava for recreational purposes (previously this limit was capped at two kilograms), and industries in possession of appropriate permits and licences can commercially import a potentially unlimited quantity of kava into Australia [16, 17]."
Economidis G, Lynch M, Taylor S, et al. Global Perspectives on Kava: A Narrative Systematic Review of the Health Effects, Economic and Social Impacts and Policy Considerations. Drug Alcohol Rev. Published online June 25, 2025. doi:10.1111/dar.14080
