Ephedra banned?

Bush to Ban Dietary Supplement Ephedra

"The Bush administration has decided to ban the herbal weight-loss supplement ephedra from the marketplace because of concerns about its effects on health, government officials said Tuesday."

story.news.yahoo.com.../ap/20031230/ap_on_he_me/ephedra&cid=541&ncid=716

What do you think?

Will it get banned?

I personally want to know, how can the FDA ban a herb? I thought they could only ban drugs.

And Congress/President could only ban those fun herbs
(like the good ole' hemp, which they called that crazy marijauanna)

If ephedra gets banned, what about pseudoephedrine?

pseudoephedrine is an important drug in the decongestant arena.

I will not be unhappy to see ephedra go, but I like to be able to breath when I have a cold.

[Edited on 12/30/03 by crayon]

Pseudophedrine is completely different, it won't get banned. It's just people who misuse ephedrine who are getting it banned for everyone.

the funny thing is the brands that produce the ephedra based products have been perfecting the non-ephedra versions for the last few years. I work in the health food/nutrition industry and keep up on these things as well as the GMO issue. Many of the most popular products have replacements waiting for this exact situation. Also we sell the actual ephedra herb in its raw form in bulk...should I stock up now and sell it underground later

pseudoephidrine is a chemicaly engineered replacement for ephedra basically (both are several molecules away from methanphetamine, and can be used to produce it) I'm not sure about other states, but at the checkout counter in super markets here in Cali, you are only allowed to purchase a limited amount of products containing pseudoephidrine at any one time. Intended to deter crank labs from gaining easy access to base ingredients.

Yea, I think the main thing here is that ephedrine is mainly used for weight loss, and is often abused, where pseudophedrine is good for when you are sick, so it has a more worthwhile purpose I suppose. If you go in the store and try to buy like 20 packs of sudafed you will most likely get the cops called on you as it is a main ingredient for methamphetamine.

Ephedra has already been banned here in Illinois. It's a pain, because now instead of my Ripped Fuel, I have to go out and buy sudafed instead...

Yeah I don't think sudafed is what they're worried about. This presents a much larger issue though with all of these herbs. Ephedra is from Ma Huang which is an herb. A lot of these herbs aren't regulated and people jump all over them because they are stupid fools who think the word "natural" is a synonym for the word "safe". Well newsflash... Hemlock is natural too but how many people are drinking that since good old Socrates?

If conclusive studies have been done that prove that this herbal supplement causes people to become sick and die, it should be banned. Why should a company get rich off a product that young people (like that baseball player) are using to get healthier, and end up dying from.

On a personal note, I consider it highly irresponsible for anyone - person or corporation - to peddle a product that they don't know is safe. Keep in mind most of their buyers were very young people trying to get fit... it's not right...

The problem with that is that the people who are getting sick and even dying taking ephedra are abusing it. They're taking way too much. If we're going to make something illegal because some people abuse it and, by taking way too much, cause their body harm, we need to outlaw smoking, alcohol, fast food, sugar, and many other products most people can use in moderation.

Thousands and thousands of people have used ephedra with good results and no bad side effects. And out of this many people, how many have died? I think only a few, and these were people who didn't follow instructions, took way too much, and also used it in conjunction with hard training and other drugs.

How many people die from tobacco and alcohol each year? Please remind me...but that doesn't matter because the government makes a fortune from the sales.

That ain't cool.
I've been using ephedrine in low doses for YEARS (I have mild asthma, and it prevents attacks before they happen). My blood pressure is normal, my heart is in good shape, and I only need my rescue inhaler about twice a month now.
Thanks, George. I can "stock up" while I still can, but that'll only last so long. Guess I'll have to go back to the every-other-day inhaler regimen and seasonal emergency room visits for IV steroids & breathing treatments.
Assholes.


-B.

Land of the free huh? doesnt really seem like it anymore..
I am so sick of people being such little kids...if your afraid of it..dont use it..if you die from it..sorry to bad my friend.I have eaten plenty ephdra[yellow jackets,mini thins,..ect]..never had any problems..and if i did..it would be my fault not anybody elses..geez 50 times more people die from alcohol and whatever else..so why are they banning stuff still...i really dont feel like a free person anymore here..this is getting ridiculous..humilating for our country i feel...im at a loss of words really..I guess the words "land of the free" is really just a pipe dream..




[Edited on 30-12-2003 by McGotti]

Ephedra is said to be habit forming. Also it increases heart rates and likely blood pressure thus it is not for everyone.

Serious users include body builders that use it in what is called a 'stack' or in combination with other substances in a rotation.

They combine it with caffeine and aspirin.

The ephedra increases metabolism and thus calories burnt while the caffeine decreases hunger (also increases heart rate etc too), while the aspirin reduces any pain or hunger pangs that may be felt and stomach discomfort.

In short you have to be careful when using this stuff if you don't know what you are doing.

Too bad really because I have heard that it really does the job and with some discipline it can be managed by most people.


[Edited on 30-12-2003 by THENEO]

I use Ephedra and have quite a large supply of it.
I knew this was coming so I stacked up on a 2 year supply. I dont use it everyday or even every month, I use it more when I am cutting after a few months of bulking up. It works great. It does speed up the heart and basically has the same effect as caffeine, except it is more powerful.

My problem with this is that when will other supplements be banned, such as Creatine, Whey, Andro and other stuff. I use quite a bit of supplements and stack them like the above post says. They have helped me do things to my body that wouldve taken years to do. I really dont agree with this because who knows whats next.

There are many alternatives that people can take though and if they cant do that, just order the # online.

I've used Ephedra on and off for the past few 7 yrs. The only reason they're banning it is because of the dorks who abuse it. I don't know about America but here in Canada the Gov't is trying to ban ordinary herbals.

[Edited on 31-12-2003 by Sapphire]

Sapphire,

yeah sad isn't it!

I don't think that ephedra is controlled here yet is it?

not that it stops anyone from finding it anyways.

I wouldnt even blame it on the "dorks" ....its a couple parents of people who cry on t.v. ..screaming "save the children from themselves...they dont deserve to make up their own minds...so i want to decide what everyone else should be allowed to use..save the children"


I say "screw the children" if a couple people die , oh well, it happens..my cousin died in a car accident..so please ban cars aswell..


This is NOT my idea of freedom


[Edited on 31-12-2003 by McGotti]

I would hate to be the first person they send to prison for criminal possesion of ephedrin..lol.. i could see it now "hey..new fish..what are you in for??" "oh..i got busted when they cops kicked in my door because they found out i had some ephedrin in my home"

"land of the free"

I think everyone is missing the obvious here. Ephedra and ephedrine are essentially the same thing and can be used to achieve the same results. The primary difference between them is that Ephedra is derived directly from a plant, whereas ephedrine has to be manufactured by a pharmaceutical company. They can both be abused, and often are (they are basically legal speed). Ephedra is not in the jurisdiction of the FDA though, so they are finding a reason to outlaw it. The driving force behind this is the same as the one that won't legalize marijuana, but is just fine with Marinol, highly concentrated THC in a pill form.

The government doesn't want any natural drugs available, because they detract from the pharmaceutical company's profit (primary funders of the "War on Drugs") and isn't subject to the FDA's control

I have used ephedrine since 1977 and this pisses me off. It is the damned jocks abusing this stuff that is getting it banned for everybody.

I personally want to know, how can the FDA ban a herb? I thought they could only ban drugs.

Interesting point, but they could easily just classify it as a narcotic, and then that could carry to the raw form as well, and put it under DEA, ATF control....