Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ban on kava bar is headed to court
Kava, an herbal brew with sedative properties, is now roiling the city of Lighthouse Point.
The city rejected a Boca Raton man’s proposal to open a kava bar in June, saying it violated the city’s ban on designer drugs. Now, Jeffrey Bowman has kicked off a legal fight, asking the court to overrule the city and let him open the kava bar.
His complaint, filed in Broward County Circuit Court this month, says the city’s opposition to the business was wrongly based on an “unfocused discomfort with the use of kava.”
Some kava experts were surprised the city rebuffed the business in the first place. There are many kava
bars across the country that serve the popular herb from the South Pacific. Lighthouse Point may be the first city to deny a business permit over concerns about the tea-like beverage, they said.
“It’s a natural plant that is available to everyone, and it’s approved by the [Food and Drug Administration] to be sold to the American public,” said Dr. Ray Sahelian, a California physician who has researched kava.
Lighthouse Point Mayor Glenn Troast and City Manager John Lavisky declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Kava, with its opioid-like effects, has been scrutinized by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal agency planned to put it in the same classification as heroin and peyote, a class that indicates a high potential for abuse. But the agency halted its effort late last year.
Bowman also wants to offer kratom, an extract from a Southeast Asia tree, which is banned in six states and Sarasota County in Florida. Kratom is available in a dozen establishments elsewhere across Florida.
Bowman, who already runs a Boca Raton kava bar, The Nak, said there shouldn’t be any controversy over kava, which is commonly served lukewarm.
“This whole thing has gone too far and makes no sense,” Bowman said, arguing kava bars are a safer and healthier social scene than bars with alcohol. “I’m hopeful that the city of Lighthouse Point will come to their senses.”
Perhaps more effective would be requiring kava bars to put up warning signs, said Sahelian, who is unaffiliated with Bowman.
“They should have warnings ... not to drive after drinking two or three cups of it or operate heavy machinery,” Sahelian said. “Drinking kava can cause in the short term a decrease in clarity of thinking, balance and coordination depending on how strong the brew.”
Lighthouse Point in 2014 enacted a rule against “designer drugs” when widespread public concern emerged about other products, generically known as spice and bath salts.
Such substances began showing up on convenience store shelves a few years ago and mimicked the effects of illegal drugs. But they were not illegal because chemists had slightly altered the active ingredients. Cities across South Florida enacted ordinances to clarify the legal gray area, banning any drugs that mimicked the effects of the illegal substances.
Bowman’s suit says kava is not a designer drug and that even if it were, it would not be a reason to deny a permit because his business application to the city met all the requirements.
“Nothing in the code says a building permit may be denied because of a suspicion, or even evidence, that a designer drug might eventually be sold on the premises,” the suit says.