ISLAND BREW LEADS TO CLASH

Polynesian immigrants' social tradition tests impaired-driving laws

Every weekend the men gather, sitting cross-legged on woven-grass mats in East Palo Alto garages and across the Bay Area.  They come to gossip, play music, pray, raise money.  And the lubricant for their conversation is kava, a herbal brew made from a South Seas pepper plant, which relaxes them.

But it was just such a gathering that got Taufui Piutau in trouble.  After a kava klatch last summer, he was driving home when the California Highway Patrol pulled him over and charged him with driving under the influence of the herb that is ubiquitous in his homeland of Tonga.

The case, the first of its kind in California and one of few in the United States, has angered many Bay Area Pacific Islanders who believe there is nothing wrong with getting behind the wheel after a few cups of kava.

``It's a serious waste of the county's assets to be prosecuting kava cases,'' said Piutau's lawyer, Scott Ennis, ``if there's no general knowledge that it's something unsafe to do.''

The prosecutor in the case disagrees.

``He was driving slow for traffic and weaving and showing signs that this may be someone who should not be driving,'' said Assistant District Attorney Rachel Holt.  Piutau failed roadside tests designed to check hand-eye coordination and balance, she said.

Kava is used widely and frequently in the South Pacific and in immigrant communities across the United States, and islanders were stunned to hear of Piutau's arrest.  Tongans, Samoans, Fijians and others who brought the kava ritual along when they immigrated say it is an integral part of life, a way to share information, reinforce traditions and kick back with their family and friends.  They say it doesn't affect their ability to drive any more than water or Mountain Dew.

Drowsiness, numb tongue

Experts and islanders alike say kava's effects are usually mild, rarely more pronounced than drowsiness and a numb tongue.  But the experts also say it is a complex drug that has proved difficult to classify.  Considered a central nervous system depressant and an analgesic, its physiological effects depend on the strength of the brew.  Commonly sold in this country as a natural remedy for anxiety, kava has been used ritually in the South Pacific for more than 2,000 years and gained wide use in everyday social interaction after World War II.

But large quantities of the drink, traditionally ladled into small coconut shells by a young woman and passed around the room, could create a state similar to intoxication, several people said.  Men will typically drink dozens of cupfuls in long sessions that last until the early morning hours.

``They might have an argument that you do lose some muscular control,'' said Lamont Lindstrom, an anthropologist who co-wrote a definitive book on kava based on his fieldwork in Vanuatu.  ``When I've drunk kava, if it's very strong, my eyes will cross.''

But the kava that is usually served in this country lacks much punch, he said.

``It gives you a rush of peaceful good feelings that last about 20 minutes until you take another cup,'' said Lindstrom.  ``It's like a folk Valium.''

Piutau had spent six or seven hours with a group of men from his church, his lawyer said, socializing and drinking cup after cup of the mud-colored liquid made from the powdered root of the kava plant and strained into a large wooden bowl.  Piper methysticum is a close relative of the plant that produces black pepper, and the drink has the earthy flavor of fresh dirt, with a slight peppery bite.

About 3 a.m.  Aug.  7, Piutau was heading home to Millbrae from the gathering in San Bruno when a CHP officer spotted him in the slow lane of Highway 101.  Piutau was driving 55 miles an hour in a 65 zone and had drifted to the left, then back, according to the police report.  Breath and urine tests found no alcohol in his system, but Piutau said he'd been drinking kava for several hours.  The father of four, who has lived in this country since he was a teenager, has no record of driving offenses.

``I think it was a profile stop,'' said Ennis, referring to the practice of pulling over drivers because they fit the racial ``profile'' of a likely offender.  Piutau was merely sleepy and going home to bed, Ennis said.

Pacific Islanders, who consider kava no more dangerous than soda pop, also suspect Piutau was targeted for his dark skin.

``I think it is because we are colored,'' said Samate Ikavuka, an associate pastor at the Tongan United Methodist Church in Palo Alto.

Ennis said he is confident of beating the charge, since there is no physical evidence that Piutau had overindulged in kava or anything else.

``I don't know how they're going to prosecute beyond a reasonable doubt without positive evidence that there was kava in his system at the time,'' he said.

Piutau is to appear in San Mateo County Municipal Court on June 26.

Prosecutors believe it is the first case of its kind in California, but it is not the first nationally.  In 1996, a Tongan man living in a suburb of Salt Lake City was convicted of driving under the influence of kava.  Law enforcement officials insisted kava abuse was so widespread in the Salt Lake basin they needed to send a message.  Utah has a large Pacific Islander population because of the Mormon church's missionary work in the South Pacific.

``I had seen enough problems on our highways that we wanted to do something about it,'' said Keith Stoney, then a municipal prosecutor in West Valley City.  Stoney won a conviction against the elderly Mormon man, who drank kava after a church function, then drove home.

``I don't think this poor fellow knew he was driving the way he was driving,'' said Stoney.  Kava-impaired drivers can become so relaxed they don't react quickly to driving conditions and have been known to collide with other cars or fall asleep at stoplights, he said.

But since the 1996 case, there have been few problems, and Stoney believes his message was heard.

``I think we were able to successfully say, `It's a safety issue, not a cultural issue.' The message we sent to the community is, `Your culture's great.  Keep doing what you're doing.  We respect that.  But let somebody else drive you home.' ''

What law says

San Mateo County law enforcement officials are not trying to teach Pacific Islanders any lessons, Holt said.  The law makes it illegal to operate a vehicle while impaired by any substance, whether it is prescription drugs, Vicodin, chardonnay or kava, she said.

``The only message the DA's office intends to send is, `If you break the law, we will prosecute you.' ''

She added, ``This has nothing to do with the fact the defendant happens to be Tongan, and Pacific Islanders like to drink kava.  It doesn't matter what substance you're under or why you've been drinking it.  All that matters is you're impaired and should not be driving.''

Yet Pacific Islanders fear the charges against Piutau will lead to a broader criminalization of kava, a fear law enforcement officials say is unfounded.

``It's not just the drinking, it's the environment, the conversation,'' said Michael Uhila, an East Palo Altan of Tongan and Samoan descent.  ``The people want outsiders to understand, this is part of our culture.''

Uhila and others point out that kava has a positive influence on the community.

When young men are sitting around the kava bowl with their elders they aren't drinking alcohol and engaging in dangerous activities.

``A lot of guys my age who didn't drink kava, who drank beer instead, they got violent and got killed,'' said Uhila, 25, who spent his teenage years in East Palo Alto.  ``At that time in East Palo Alto, it was the murder capital.  I never got in trouble drinking kava.''

Uhila said his time in the kava circle gave him an education and a sense of identity that was not available in school or on the streets.

``Drinking kava I learned a lot about my culture, about my family.  I learned .  I found my way through drinking kava and being around those people.''

Contact Marilee Enge at menge@sjmercury.com or ( 650 ) 688-7588.