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classification of drugs >>> peyote, nutmeg, cava-cava >>>

Peyote, Nutmeg, Cava-Cava

Cava-Cava

This exotic name refers to both the main psychoactive plant, which is used by the population of the islands in the Pacific, and the beverage, which is made from it. This beverage is made from the roots of the “Piper methysticum” plant, which is chewed by the local maidens or it is powdered in a mortar; then water is added and the so-made mixture stays for a few hours until it becomes bitter and smelly. Some Europeans say that this is the worst thing they have ever drunken. Cava-Cava is usually used during holidays, so that the spirits may be contacted or it is also used as a medicine. Many of those rituals were forgotten under the influence of the Christian missioners and the result was that the locals started drinking more liquor. Lately more and more people are willing to try Cava-Cava, which is connected with revealing of the “true” traditional values of the people of Polynesia and Melanesia. It has been also very popular in Australia, used by the aborigines as well as by the most curious from the whites.

The research show that in moderate doses Cava-Cava is as dangerous as alcohol. Despite this fact its regular use leads to unpleasant consequences. A participant in the expedition of captain Kook? wrote in his diary: “…The old men, who drink this beverage, are weak and all dried up; their skin is hanging, their eyes are red and they have red spots all over their bodies. They admit that all this is a result from their constant drinking; it is obvious that this piper has some substances that cause leprosy. Despite this fact, this root, according to the local people, is a symbol of piece, maybe because drinking helps people easier to become friends.”