Thirst for Kava drink is growing like weed

Southern California has become the best-selling market for Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with Kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties.

Matt Moody, a Denver nutritional supplement developer who created the beverage, said the name is an unabashed reference to weed, though the relaxant compounds in Kava are chemically unrelated to those in marijuana.

Along with new drinks like Slow Cow and Ex Chill, Mary Jane’s is part of a new group of so-called slow-down or anti-energy drinks, and are expected to be one of the top food trends of 2010, according to advertising agency J. Walter Thompson.