If people want to use ephedra, that is fine. BUt by making it illegal, the government will rightly convince most law abiding citizens to stay away from it because it is dangerous. Maybe it is not deadly in every case, maybe only 1 in every 100 it is lethal. That is enough of a reason to ban it, just like heroin or ecstacy.

Hmmm....comparing ephedra to heroine and ecstasy is a bit crazy. Ephedra can cause heart attacks and other problems, but it is not nearly in the same class as heroine (highly addictive after even the first use), or ecstasy (which is often considered more of a "soft" drug even though recent studies have shown it to cause a LOT of harm to the brain).

I agree with the ban on ephedra due to the harmful effects it has on people, and even though the death of Bechler was the impetus to get this ban in place, I think the ban is geared at the average joe on the street who is taking it. Everyone knows that athletes can and will get anything they want. And with 2 months until the ban goes into effect, it afford everyone plenty of time to stock up on it until then.

Is comparing ephedra to heroin and ecstasy really a bit crazy? Where do you draw the line? Pot is already illegal but that's probably less harmful than ephedra, but some feel pot should be legalized (all the potheads do!). Anyway, I think the ban is a good thing, and I'm doubtful that the quality of the illegal stuff will really be an issue. It's a capitalistic economy. The good vendors of ephedra and bad vendors of ephedra will sort itself out. Just as, hypothetically, I'd know who to get good pot from.

http://www.nomorefakenews.com/

EPHEDRA AND THE FDA

DECEMBER 31, 2003. The FDA ban this week of the herb ephedra is the forward wedge in a new round of attacks on herbs and other nutritional supplements.

The gist of the attack is: all these supplements are actually drugs because they create “biological activity.” Of course, what nutrient would not initiate biological activity? Something inert? A piece of plastic? FOOD CAUSES BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY.

If the FDA can convince the public and the press and the beltway pols that nutrients are harming people and are drugs, then it can try to insist that all supplements undergo the multi-million-dollar testing that is required for new drug approvals. This would bankrupt most nutritional companies and allow the drug companies to accelerate their process of buying out these outfits.

Ephedra deaths have not been covered in detail. For example, what amounts were the people taking? The Chinese have been using ephedra (ma huang) for 5000 years.

And then we have the fact, which I’ve documented over and over, that FDA-approved pharmaceuticals correctly prescribed to patients in hospitals kill 100,000 people in the US every year. Where is the outcry about that?

Oh, that’s right. All outcries are supposed to come from…the FDA, the very agency that approves the drugs that are killing so many people.

For some reason, the mainstream press does not get up on its hind legs about THAT. Even though it would obviously make a sensational story that could be pounded on day in and day out.

Can you imagine what would happen if ephedra were killing 100,000 people like clockwork every year? People would burn down the buildings of the companies that sell it. The CEOs would be hung in public squares.

I feel as a person who has used a dietary supplement containing Ephedra and has lived without any side effects think that there just is not enough information/data to come to the conclusion of having it banned. More people have been killed in car accidents but driving isn't banned. If this is banned whats next? All herbal supplements? I just feel that people should take it at their own risk.

I feel as a person who has used a dietary supplement containing Ephedra and has lived without any side effects think that there just is not enough information/data to come to the conclusion of having it banned. More people have been killed in car accidents but driving isn't banned. If this is banned whats next? All herbal supplements? I just feel that people should take it at their own risk.

I feel as a person who has used a dietary supplement containing Ephedra and has lived without any side effects think that there just is not enough information/data to come to the conclusion of having it banned. More people have been killed in car accidents but driving isn't banned. If this is banned whats next? All herbal supplements? I just feel that people should take it at their own risk.

Ephedra should not be considered dangerous if it is taken responsibly. I can only wonder what Bechler was thinking, in spite of his abnormal heart and liver. The ECA stack is a known thermogenic compound. Large doses of Ephedra + professional competition (extremely strenuous exercise) + hot weather is a good recipe for a heatstroke. Who knows what else he might have been taking.

I fully agree with the ban against ephedra! It killed a professional baseball player for heaven's sake! I think it sould be banned because it puts people's lives in grave danger. If it's killing people, it should be taken off the market.