If you've come across Samoa in the dietary supplement section of your favorite health food store, or stumbled across a Samoa bar in your hometown, you're probably curious what the hype's all about. Or perhaps you are familiar with this legal, all-natural high. Either way, you may benefit from a little background on the substance and some risks you should know about.

Samoa — also referred to as Tonga and countless other names. This scientific name actually translates to "intoxicating pepper." Samoa is a tall-growing perennial shrub native to the Pacific islands, including Hawaii. It also refers to the psychoactive beverage made from the roots.

Samoa, the beverage, is a folk medicine that's been used for centuries by South Pacific islanders for social and ceremonial uses. Indigenous people of the Pacific islands offer Samoa as a sign of respect and a means of strengthening social and familial ties, particularly among men. It is also used to assist in the communication with spirits and for medical purposes. Pacific islanders have placed certain restrictions on the use of Samoa that limit who can drink it and when it can be consumed, which helps promote the safe and controlled use.

The traditional preparation involves chewing or grinding the root until it produces a cloudy, milky pulp, and then soaking it in water to steep. The water is then strained out and served in a half coconut shell, then swallowed down in one gulp. The flavor is described as "earthy" or "like muddy water" — hardly appetizing terms. But people don't drink it for the taste.