Will kava affect me like alcohol or marijuana?

Although kava is psychoactive it is unlike alcohol or marijuana, its mode of action is different and complex, reportedly acting on the brain stem to produce a relaxed state of mind whilst also relaxing muscles, the mind remains clear. An excellent description of kava drinking is Lewin's; (When the mixture is not too strong, the subject attains a state of happy unconcern, wellbeing and contentment, free of physical or psychological excitement. At the beginning, conversation comes in gentle, easy flow and hearing and sight are honed, becoming able to perceive subtle shades of sound and vision. Kava sooths temperaments. The drinker never becomes angry, unpleasant, quarrelsome or noisy, as happens with alcohol. Lewin 1927).

A kava night and a no hangover Sunrise at Lauiula Beach fales island of Savaii, Samoa.