In most of Polynesia, Vanuatu, scattered locales of south-central and northeastern New Guinea, and the Micronesian areas of Pohnpei and Kosrae, people traditionally prepared, served, and drank kava, an infusion of the basal stems, stump, and roots of Piper methysticum, a. tropical pepper, which grows up to 3.5 meters high.
Researchers have not fully explored fully the psychoactivity of kava and its neurological effects, but they classify it as a soporific, a drug that enhances feelings of happiness...