In Atwater Village, A Watering Hole for the “California Sober”
Grayson Kelly
Sp/22
George Khaled, a young professional who lives in Glendale, was stressed one night after work at his tech start-up in Santa Monica. Khaled, who has a year and a half sober under his belt, did what any 25 year old in Los Angeles might do when feeling the urge to numb out: opened Weedmaps.
If you’re not in the know, Weedmaps is a popular cannabis app that connects customers with local dispensaries, offering both pickup and delivery services across L.A. It wasn’t that Khaled thought he was heading to a full-blown relapse–which, for him, would involve opioids–but he was able to justify a cheeky smoke n’ toke since pot had never really been his drug-of-choice. Throughout his 15 months of sobriety, Khaled had been able to drop his crippling pill addiction all while avoiding alcohol and weed, a feat he rightly wears as a badge of honor.
A pang of guilt and fear struck Khaled as he stared at the delivery menu for a dispensary near his apartment, and he asked himself: “Is it worth it?” While it was a better choice than pills, Khaled had still sworn off the substance since it did him more harm than good. He closed Weedmaps, and took a breath. Halt, he reminded himself.
You see, there’s a popular acronym in recovery circles when it comes to relapse prevention: HALT. It’s a simple tool for an addict to check in with themselves if they’re feeling like they want to use. HALT stands for “hungry, angry, lonely, or tired,” the acronym serving to remind us recovering addicts of what our bodies and minds need to function optimally. Khaled, for his part, felt lonelier than ever. He needed a place to unwind and be social, somewhere that wasn’t the Venice Beach dive bar his coworkers and friends went to most nights.
So, he opened Yelp and searched “sober bar non-alcoholic drinks.” That’s when he came across Kava Culture, a self-described “sober hangout” in Atwater Village. There, Khaled found a home-away-from-home, a place he finds himself returning to daily. Perhaps best of all, he didn’t buy weed that night and still hasn’t since.
Tucked neatly between the Los Angeles River to the west and Glendale to the north and east, Atwater Village is home to Kava Kulture, the first and only kava bar in the city. The kavatenders at Kava Kulture are the only “bartenders” in L.A. that\ sling both kava drinks and kratom teas alongside coffee and espresso choices to a thirsty clientele.
At Kava Kulture, the signature drink is called “The Ultra-Shock”, and it comes in three sizes, at a price: $12 for a half (4 oz.), $16 for a regular (6 oz.), and finally, $20 for a full (8 oz.) For those who would rather not drink the beverage like a “shot” of sorts, Kava Kulture also offers what they call a “kava mocktail,” a shaken concoction consisting of a shot of kava with your choice of ginger beer or pineapple juice and a splash of mineral water.
When you walk into Kava Kulture, you’re most likely going to be greeted by the friendly face of resident kavatender Linda Ghazarian, who will recommend that you drink the ultra-shock in one sip. Not only does this help bypass the unpleasant taste, but it allows the effects of the drink to come quicker and stronger than they would if you were sipping. When I first visited Kava Kulture, Ghazarian keyed me in on the fact that kava is more of an alternative to a sedative, like alcohol. Kratom tea, she’ll tell you, is akin to a sort-of opium tea sans opioids. Drinkers report effects similar to stimulants, analgesics, or prescription pain relievers.
The kratom tree, indigenous to Southeast Asia, is an evergreen tree. Kratom leaves have been long utilized as an herbal remedy for opioid withdrawal symptoms, fatigue, mood disorders, and pain management. Due to the fact that kratom (latin name Mitragyna speciosa) affects the brain like an opiate, the plant has a complicated and controversial history dating back centuries. The plant is native to Thailand where the “drug” has been banned for decades amid “widespread abuse,” due to its well-known narcotic effects. Kratom has nevertheless made its way across the world, and in the U.S. alone has been sold in the form of teas, powders, and pills for years.
A New York Times article from 2016 told the story of a young Floridian heroin addict who, “three shaky months into recovery” found something to ease her withdrawal symptoms at a local nonalcoholic bar. She found that the shop’s “brewed beverage” soothed her brain and body as much as narcotics had. Soon enough, she grew addicted to the beverage and ultimately relapsed. The Southeast Asian leaf, she says, was to blame; she also claims that she ”didn’t know” what kratom was.7 The article does not note whether or not the woman was also utilizing the normal routes in her early recovery with things like Narcotics Anonymous, which professionals agree can help keep sober people on the right track. The same article posits that “many drug-treatment providers consider kratom use a full-fledged relapse;” it’s also importantly noted that there is very little Western research into the plant or it’s decoctions.7
Kava, on the other hand, lies on the other side of the spectrum. A 2015 Eater article named kava tea “a prescription-free alternative to Xanax,”5 and in my experience, they’re not wrong. Kava is a physio-active drink made from ground rhizomes of the plant Piper Methysticum, a member of the black pepper family.1 When ground and brewed, kava contains a unique blend of stress-fighting compounds called kavalactones. Kavalactones act on the brain’s GABA receptors, important neurotransmitters in the CNS; low levels of GABA activity may be linked to conditions like anxiety or mood disorders, epilepsy, chronic pain, insomnia, depression, and psychiatric disorders.3 Historically, the preparation of kava involved chewing or grinding the root before soaking the powdered product in water; coconut milk and lemon juice are also commonly used at this stage. The water is then strained and served in a half coconut shell. The drink is meant to be consumed all at once, since the taste is extremely off-putting. Think watery mud that leaves your mouth buzzing, as if you’d just eaten a handful of mild Szechuan peppercorns.
Perhaps more interesting than the science behind kava is its rich cultural history, leading back 2000 years on Southern Pacific islands. According to a study10, kava is offered to important individuals as a sign of respect; it is used as a means of strengthening social and familial ties, particularly among males, as well as assisting communication with spirits. Historically, kava’s important role in Polynesian cultures has been marked “most notably as a component of welcoming ceremonies honoring special visitors including the likes of Prince Charles in Fiji in 2005 and French President François Hollande when he visited the Wallis and Futuna islands” in 2016.9 Though kava’s roots go back thousands of years in places like Hawaii and Vanuatu, kava-kava was first mentioned in scientific records in 1886. The root soon began gaining popularity across the world as an anti-anxiety alternative to traditional medicine or alcohol. By 1914, kava was listed in the British Pharmacopoeia and by 1950 it had been documented in the US Dispensary as a treatment for gonorrhea and nervous disorders.1
As USC Annenberg’s in-house recovering alcoholic, it’s easy for me to see the draw of beverages like kava and kratom. Having been through treatment twice, something that I’ve become passionate about is harm reduction. When I was first admitted into a detox program for alcohol abuse, there was a sign on the wall of the center that read,“We stand for loving addicts just the way they are.” The sign was immediately disarming and felt like a warm embrace. The shame that I carried walking into detox (and by extension, rehab,)soon melted away when I realized that this place and the staff there were eager to show me something I’d forgotten about through my devastatingly dark years of crippling addiction: empathy. In today’s world, harm reduction programs have never been more important–especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. Overdose deaths rose by nearly 30 percent over the 12-month period that ended last November, suggesting that 2020 blew past recent records for such deaths.2 Contributing factors? “Widespread job loss and eviction, diminished access to addiction treatment and medical care, and an illegal drug supply that became even more dangerous after the country essentially shut down.”2
I should note that I am one of the lucky ones; not many people in this country have the luxury to go to treatment or even a detox center. While the Biden administration has recently thrown their support behind the harm reduction movement, making efforts to expand the program by making it one of his drug policy priorities (the first president to do so,) access to proper addiction treatment in America is financially staggering.2 In a New York Times article chronicling the costs of recovery, one recovering addict says she’s spent around $25,000 on Suboxone (a drug that helps prevent opioid withdrawal symptoms,) and $16,000 on doctors appointments alone, with another $200,000 paid by insurance. Another talks about the system for “getting into rehab,” which she likens to a “grotesque game show” requiring days of calls to centers to demonstrate desperation. Another, a sibling of an addict, talks about the insane amount of money the family has spent on treatment–a figure they say is in the hundreds of thousands4
On top of the insurmountable price tag, many Americans lack access to proper care or insurance. In light of this, access to a relatively affordable herbal alternative like kava and kratom could be hugely beneficial in grassroots harm reduction efforts across the country. The goal of harm reduction is not to help drug users achieve complete abstinence, but to instead reduce their risk of dying from street drug overdoses.
Throughout my seven years of adulthood and two years of recovery, I’ve learned that alcohol plays a central role in social relationships—especially in your 20’s, in a big city. Not everyone who uses drugs or abuses alcohol is ready for treatment, and not every recovering addict needs to abstain from every single substance. For example, marijuana has been a massive tool in my own recovery journey; I’m not sure if I will use it forever, but I do believe that cannabis has saved my life. For people like Khaled, kava and kratom are equally as vital.
Depending on who you ask, using any substance at all disqualifies one from calling themselves “sober.” In recent years, a new moniker has materialized, derived from the pseudo-sober lifestyle many Angelenos (and celebrities) are gravitating to: “California sober”. Psychiatrist and addiction specialist Akhil Anand says “California sober” is “kind of a misnomer. After all, you’re not sober if you’re still using a mind altering substance.” People commonly adopt the label if they’ve given up alcohol and turned to marijuana, like myself–though I don’t exactly claim Cali sobriety–but there is no formal definition.
This is what makes the emergence of kava bars like Kava Kulture in Atwater Village so exciting for people like Khaled and myself. A space like Kava Kulture checks all of the boxes when I need a place to get out of my apartment to do work or socialize. It’s low-key, open late, and alcohol is not promoted or sold.
“I feel like customers come back for a few reasons. One is because of the environment, everyone is so friendly to each other and I’m glad there isn’t any negative energy in the place because there’s no time for that in this precious lifetime,” Ghazarian tells me over a half-coconut shell full of coconut flavored kava. “Another reason is because of the fact that it’s an alternative to drinking alcohol, smoking weed, and other things people do to get the edge off when they’re stressed. It makes them feel relaxed and want to talk to people. Unlike other bars we don’t serve any alcohol. You’ll never see anyone angry or trying to start a fight off kava! You’ll just never see it,” Ghazarian says. She says that many regulars have reported that the two K’s have helped them with their anxiety and depression.
“Yes, they aren’t the healthiest alternatives,” she acknowledges. “They are in the gray area of drugs but what isn’t a drug? If you ask any doctor they’ll tell you nothing is good for your health, but for those that need something, kava and/or kratom are great alternatives.” For Ghazarian, Kava Kulture is not only her workplace and social space, but a blessing: “I like to consider it a place for people who need people.”