When kava is prepared traditionally (as tea) and used in high doses (> 6 to 12 g a day of dried root) or over long periods (up to 6 weeks), there have been reports of scaly skin rash (kava dermopathy), blood changes (eg, macrocytosis, leukopenia), and neurologic changes (eg, torticollis, oculogyric crisis, worsening of Parkinson disease, movement disorders).