German court overturns kava ban

Germany’s 12-year ban on calming herb kava is, “unlawful and inappropriate” the country’s Federal Administrative Court has found.

Kava toxicity fears spread at the beginning of the 2000s after adverse event reports linking it to liver problems and many countries warned against it in the EU and elsewhere like the US.

But the German court found the risks were not high enough to justify the ban and overturned it.

Kava, aqueous extracts from the roots of Piper methysticum, recently received a boost when University of Minnesota researchers used a proprietary blend to identify kava components that showed anti-cancer activity in mice.

The German ruling (in German) can be found here.