It may also be used on purely social occasions without much ritual. High-quality kava products are sold in Germany as natural relaxants and sleep aids. They're different from valerian because they produce a pleasant high and relaxing body sensations. In this country, you can generally only buy dried kava as a coarse powder or as large chips of root. The quality is fairly uneven.
Some people make it into a tea, which acts as a mild downer.
Chewed dried kava numbs the mouth and may be relaxing. These changes are reversible if you stop drinking kava. Kava could turn out to be very useful as a natural alternative to Valium and other addictive depressants. I imagine it may become a major pharmaceutical product in the Western world as drug companies start adapting natural medicines to the market here. Inc. All rights reserved.