A drug test for kava requested by some NZ companies
The Drug Detection Agency in New Zealand says many companies are requesting a drug test for kava and it's only a matter of time before one is available.
Transcript
The Drug Detection Agency in New Zealand says many companies are requesting a drug test for kava and it's only a matter of time before one is available.
First Union claimed yesterday that Goodman Fielder was going to introduce kava testing at a Quality Bakers in Dunedin.
It said the move would be discriminatory to Pasifika people.
Goodman Fielder denied the claim, saying it was working through a Drug and Alcohol Agreement with its workers.
Nicole Pryor visited a kava house in south Auckland.
This Papatoetoe man says he drinks kava every day, and says it's not exactly a productivity booster.
"Just gotta relax, and sit down, that's it talk to guys. If you drink, you'll cause trouble and stuff, but if you drink kava, you'll just be, you'll feel lazy and you'll just sit down and relax, that's it."
But this man says it never effects his work.
"If we drink kava in the night, there's no hangover or something like that. Nothing like that. Just like when you drink liquor you have a hangover the next day, but with kava, nah."
The chair of the Tongan Advisory Council, Melino Maka, says he doesn't know what empoyers would hope to achieve with a drug test.
"I consume kava and mainly at those gatherings I spoke about before, but I don't see any way that if affects my ability to do my work."
He says it's an important part of Tongan culture.
"I don't see this as should be classed as drugs. For some of us, use the kava for cultural purposes and a way to network amongst our community. I wouldn't be happy with that and I'm sure most of my community wouldn't be happy with it."
The chief executive of The Drug Detection Agency, Kirk Hardy, says at the moment, there's no test for it.
"Technology is evolving so quickly and we've seen that with the designer and synthetic drug market where our capabilities are increasing in that area. So hey look in the future, I do think there will be a test for it."
But that doesn't mean there isn't demand.
"We obviously do over 100,000 tests per annum. So we get the request quite a bit whether we have that capability, unfortunately at this stage we don't. And I guess it is a concern for employers if someone is using kava in the workplace."
First Union's organiser Jerome Mika says testing for kava would be inappropriate and discriminatory.
"We don't think kava should be classed as a drug. And kava is part of Pacific cultures. For us we are concerned, especially when it could mean effectively they are targeting Pasifika people. We don't want the stigmatisation of Pacific people as drug abusers."
Mr Mika says the union would challenge any action taken against workers found to have been drinking it.
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