

Ask HN: Has Anyone Tried Kava Extract? - notdarkyet

Hey all! Recently I was told that Kava extract can have a relaxing effect without diminishing cognitive abilities.  I have been doing some research but was curious if any of the HN members have tried it.
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rms
Sure, email me and I'll send you some. It works and the FDA grants it
Generally Recognized as Safe status. The effects don't last very long, maybe
2-3 hours. It is not physically addictive. You can buy it at Whole Foods but
it is about 25% the cost online.

I also sell another substance, mitragyna speciosa, that may work for you
depending on your situation. Email is in the profile. The other thing you
could do is ask a mental health professional! Kava will relax you, but it's a
bad idea to use it to treat an anxiety disorder.

~~~
notdarkyet
No need to send but the offer is much appreciated (they sell tea at the local
health food store). How would you describe the effects? I have been looking
for healthy relaxant to use while coding (and trying to avoid teas and coffee
late night).

~~~
rms
That's probably an appropriate use of kava. I wouldn't get kava tea in
teabags, it probably isn't very strong. Look for instant drink mix, extract,
or tincture.

Kava's effects are like a mild benzodiazepine. It's a relaxing, mild sedative.
Erowid is the authoritative source for the effects of these kinds of things,
though most of the people there are probably doing higher doses than you want
to do while coding. <http://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Kava.shtml>

------
netweirdo
It's the only "intoxicant" I will use.

I import it from here <http://www.realkava.com/>

It's the good Sh __

And instead of filtering it.. I take a heaping tablespoon, mix it with some
water and shot it.. then eat something immediately after as chaser to kill the
taste.

If you do anymore shots other than one every 3 or so hours it will probably
make your stomach sick - I had to figure that out the hard way.

Happy kava-ing!

~~~
netweirdo
I mean I buy it from there.. I said import .. I live in California and Hawaii
"feels" like another country.. :)

I also got mixed up with the Kava extract I imported from China before - which
was crap.

------
shimi
Tried it while touring Fiji, sitting with the locals having a laugh.

Its really mild, no big effect, good for socializing...

------
plinkplonk
Ask HN: Has anyone tried {any of a wide variety of drugs}? I was told that
{any of a wide variety of drugs} has the following effects... I am sick of
people selling/advertising drugs on HN.

EDIT: Removed the "flagged" bit. Explicitly mentioning it here as an
acknowledgement that it was a violation of the guidelines to mention flagging
explicitly.

~~~
rms
>If you flag something, please don't also comment that you did.

<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

>But I am sick of people selling/advertising drugs on HN.

This comes up all of the time in these types of threads, which have been less
common since that surge of legalize cannabis threads. Please move along, your
complaints are uninteresting, counterproductive, and off-topic for this
thread. The OP didn't ask if you think this is a good conversation topic for
Hacker News.

The "not Hacker News" meme is the most uninteresting thing here and it ruins
many otherwise good threads which is why it is discouraged in the guidelines.
This story isn't even on the front page. All you needed to do was flag it and
move along.

I am not going to argue with you because this argument has already been beat
into the ground thoroughly in the cognitive enhancement threads. Suffice to
say, the minority of people that agree with you consistently lose the
argument. Discussion of drugs on Hacker News is not inherently off-topic. And
yes, I sell legal drugs, just like the health food store the OP refers to. You
probably sell software. We're allowed to sell things on Hacker News. If you
have a business and you're a member of Hacker News in good standing, it is
completely accepted to discuss or promote your business here, whether it is a
software business or not.

~~~
plinkplonk
"Please move along,your complaints are uninteresting and counterproductive."

says the drug seller.

"The OP didn't ask if you think this is a good conversation topic for Hacker
News."

He doesn't need to. I don't care what either the OP or you think of
selling/soliciting drugs on HN. I see it, I flag it.

" And yes, I sell legal drugs, just like the health food store the OP refers
to. "

When the health food sells health food on HN (and any entity selling anything
legal can post advertising posts on HN) and it is an accepted and encouraged
practice, _then_ you have a point.

"We're allowed to sell things on Hacker News. If you have a business and
you're a member of Hacker News, it is completely accepted to discuss or
promote your business here, whether it is a software business or not."

By this logic, anyone with any kind of business could join HN and have a forum
to sell his product, and still be within the spirit of HN.

I see it as abusing a trust when you sell drugs here. Let the moderators
decide this one.

I don't enjoy "arguing" with you either. I saw someone selling drugs. I
flagged it. The moderators will ignore the flag or confirm it. That's ok by
me.

~~~
phugoid
Do you have similar beliefs about caffeine and aspirin?

If someone with an interesting product (drugs, nuclear weapons) wants to join
HN and spark conversation, that's OK by me.

~~~
plinkplonk
"Do you have similar beliefs about caffeine and aspirin?"

Sure, I have a "belief" that people trying to sell aspirin or caffeine _on HN_
should be flagged.

"someone with an interesting product (drugs, nuclear weapons) wants to join HN
and spark conversation, that's OK by me."

There are other places for buyers and sellers of dubious drugs and nuclear
weapons to "spark conversations". The first is barely legal but slimy. The
second is illegal and should be reported to the authorities.

fwiw this isn't the first time this guy has tried to sell dubious drugs on
this forum.

see <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=71371>. (thankfully killed). Read the
comments there.

By flagging this I am just requesting this be killed too. Of course it is the
moderators privilege to let it live. Which is fine by me.

