Intoxicants in Sri Lanka are legal in certain contexts. One can legally buy most alcohols, tobaccos, and certain herbals (including narcotics such as cannabis and opium) through licensed ayurvedic shops, who are provided the raw materials by the Ministry of Health and then compelled to produce solutions/products that are then sold to the public. It is also possible to purchase tobacco from convenience stores and alcohol from several licensed stores. The most commonly consumed intoxicants on the island are normally made from tobacco, cannabis, opium, toddy or arrack. The Sunday Times described the underground situation as "...of adulterated arrack, the flourishing moonshine (kasippu) industry that thrives due to the high price of arrack and nowadays, the proliferation of narcotics ranging from heroin to ‘Kerala ganja’ down to toffees laced with intoxicant substances that aim to suck schoolkids into harder drugs." Females and males both can freely purchase alcohol in Sri Lanka. A ban on alcohol is imposed in Buddhist holy days (Poya). Alcohol Arrack Sri Lanka is the largest producer of coconut arrack and up until 1992 the government played a significant role in its production. Coconut arrack is traditionally consumed by itself or with ginger beer, a popular soda in Sri Lanka. It also may be mixed in cocktails as a substitute for the required portions of either rum or whiskey. Arrack is often combined with popular mixers such as cola, soda water, and lime juice. Production Other than water, the entire manufacturing process revolves around the fermentation and distillation of a single ingredient, the sap of unopened flowers from a coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Each morning at dawn, men known as toddy tappers move among the tops of coconut trees using connecting ropes not unlike tightropes. A single tree may contribute up to two litres per day. Due to its concentrated sugar and yeast content, the captured liquid naturally and immediately ferments into a mildly alcoholic drink called "toddy", tuak, or occasionally "palm wine". Within a few hours after collection, the toddy is poured into large wooden vats, called "wash backs", made from the wood of teak or Berrya cordifolia. The natural fermentation process is allowed to continue in the wash backs until the alcohol content reaches 5-7% and deemed ready for distillation. Distillation is generally a two-step process involving either pot stills, continuous stills, or a combination of both. The first step results in "low wine", a