JUDGE THROWS OUT CASE AGAINST DRINKER OF KAVA

A San Mateo County Superior Court judge threw out the state's second
drunken driving case related to kava beverage on Thursday in a
controversial decision that has prosecutors considering an appeal.

Judge Marta Diaz dismissed the charges against Sione Olive, 26, who was
arrested in June while driving on Highway 101. Olive was returning from a
San Mateo church, where he had consumed 23 cups of kava tea during a
religious ceremony.

Citing a lack of evidence to demonstrate that the brew had caused him to
drive erratically, Diaz found that Olive had been wrongfully charged. That
decision baffled county District Attorney Jim Fox, who said his office has
requested a transcript of the hearing to consider preparing an appeal.

The case is believed to be the second of its kind in California. In
October, jurors deadlocked on whether to acquit a man accused of weaving
after drinking kava. Kava tea -- made from the root of a pepper plant -- is
popular among Polynesian cultures.

From Mercury News staff and wire services