National Party lawmaker and former Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack shared an update after being hospitalized for trying to swallow a traditional sedative drink.
The Riverina MP has traveled the Pacific as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation. On one occasion, a visitor was offered sakau, a species of Micronesian kava.
“I feel so much better now,” McCormack said after 14 hours of sleep and throwing up the traditional drink.
“I feel much better now and it’s been a great opportunity to connect with the Pacific family at FSM,” he said.
Sakau is meant to be sipped rather than gulped as it is much stronger than other types of kava that are meant to be drunk whole.
“The problem is I stomached it!” McCormack shared on Twitter.
“I drank a cup of Sakau to pay homage to local traditions.”
The video showed McCormack holding his head and vomiting into a bucket before being taken to hospital for treatment.
“They squeezed the juice out of the roots of these giant trees right in front of us. I thought, ‘I’ll be fine,'” he told The Guardian.
“I looked over [the foreign Minister] Penny Wong said, “I’m not okay.” I went squint. I really did. Then someone gave me a bucket.
Non-alcoholic beverages, sakau and other kava are noted for their narcotic and sedative effects.