Ephedra: Legal or Not?

Cigarettes cause more health hazards than ephedra yet I don't see them banning tobacco...

There's money to be made in the sale of tobacco. 'Legal' selfish money!

I cannot find it anywhere...I live in MA....can't find the real deal in stores on any online stores/sites? what is the deal?sb

I have suffered from chronic sinus problems for many years and a small dose of ephedra was the only thing that seemed to relieve it. I saw all kinds of doctors before, CT scans, immunotherapy. Nothing worked except for the ephedra. It has been used for 3,000 years in China to relieve sinus issues. I'm glad that it is back but of course I'm also fine that it is in lower doses. I think the lesson is that herbal suppliments can't be assumed to be safe because they are over the counter. Before this happened I think it as a common thought. It is important for companies that make and distribute these products to properly advise consumers. But likewise, consumers need to use common sense. There are a lot of over the counter drugs and suppliments that can be deadly if combined with certain prescription drugs... are we to ban all of those too? Warning labels are there for a reason but I'm sure few people read them or consult their doctors before use. I think that is an important message.

i think it is stupid that they outlawed ephedra! Obviously if you have a "eating disorder" you shouldnt be taking it anyways! Its the people who took them like candy that were being hospitalized! Besides, you can still get these pills if you really want it.....

I am SO happy this stuff is legal again. This is the first time something has worked to keep me better focused and able to go through college,raise 2 babies and work out regularly (had lost 52 pounds) I was so pissed when they banned it because people abused it. By the way, every bottle I bought did have instructions and warning for proper use, but the media coverage made it sound like it was crack or something. Well I plan on getting some very soon and reaping the benefits once again.
(PS I agree, alcohol and aspirin have caused far more deaths than ephedra, shame on the FDA for caving)

I loved loved loved Metabolife before the ban. One pill in the morning, one at lunch, one at night. Helped take off those 15 lbs I hated. I followed the directions and never had any problems. After losing the weight I wanted I used only 1 or 2 a day if needed, for energy; Single mom, going back to college.

Then they banned ephedra. Metabolife went to two pills three times a day and didn't do a thing. Energy-nothing. Appetite suppresion-nothing. Weight loss-nothing. And instead of a one month supply (90 pills) it went down to a two week supply. Thanks ban.

I want my original Metabolife back. It worked for my friends that took it too, and after the ban they experianced the same thing-nothing.

I could care less if ephedra for weight loss is on the market, but I would like to have it to control my asthma. It is the only thing I have found that keeps the asthma under control. Taking the product off the market has hurt those of us who use the product properly. The only reason it was pulled was because an overweight baseball player used the chemical ephedrine, overdosing, and then running in humid heat that he was not used to. The drug did not kill him, his irresponsibility and choice of drug killed him.

Ephedra was more safe than FDA approved Fen Phen! I used to take it because I had a low metabolism and lost 80lbs in the course of a year (guy I weighed 170 then). I took the prescribed dosage and never had complications.
When it was removed I'm nearly 300lbs freaking pounds now. Some people are too stupid to know how to read a bottle and it says take one. One does not mean the whole freaking bottle. Come one all these people that feels the government should protect them from themselves are just imbeciles.
You can't be protected from everything sometimes you have to stretch your brain and and use it. I'm sorry but if someone takes the risk of drinking poison or taking handfuls of pills maybe they shouldn't be saved. I'll look out for myself thank you!

If you look at if from the perspective of Yes there are many legal products out there you can abuse to the point that you can die. The goverment cannot make money off this product unless it finds a way to make is prescription only. And that is probably the real issue. And there are probably working on that formula as we sit here and write.

oh ya and SPEED STACK WAS THE BEST PRODUCT EVER. You could just sip what you needed and basicly judge your own needs.

I just called the nutrition store in Texas you mentioned and they stated they DO NOT sell ephedra, it is still banned. So much for accruacy of infor???

Ephedra is an old herb that has been used for years and years. It is safer than most things we get from our Dr's. There will always be someone throwing up a red flag about something out on the market. If you look at the back gound of the ones they claim it harmed it was not the ephedra but the heat...no eating and not properly taking care of their self. With out a doubt everything in moderation. People never follow directions and then scream when something goes wrong.

Emily, do you realize the ephedra was not banned from cold and flu medicines? It was controlled by the drug stores by limiting how much a person could buy of it. If a person had really wanted ephedra based products, all they had to do was buy cold and allergy medications at their local drug store. Ephedra was only banned as a diet aid.

The plant itself was never banned. I have tried just the
ground plant before and it worked even better than the extract. You had to eat something first or you would puke it up though. I wonder if mixing caffiene and ephedra together is what makes you feel sick.

THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS; The FDA (contrary to popular opinion) is not there to protect Americans. Now listten closely: The FDA is there solely as a POLICE FORCE FOR BIG-PHARMA! IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!!! The FDA is funded by Big-Pharma and most of them go to work for Big-pharma after leaving the FDA. What! Not Convinced? THIS IS WELL DOCUMENTED BY KEVIN TRUDEAU AND MANY OTHERS WHOSE BOOKS ARE BLOCKED BY ADVERTISERS BECAUSE OF THESE GESTAPO ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE FDA AND FTC. As for Ephedra: go find it and eat it to your heart's content. It will never hurt you (although it may give you the jitters if you take a hundred times the dosage);because as one of the others commented; its been arround for thousands of years. Drugs on the other hand are the most harmful substances you can put into a human body. (2000 people a year in USA die each year for taking the proper dosage of asprins!

Everyone looking for good, inexpensive ephedra or non-EF products check out thatswholesale.com. Used them many times and have had great experiences with shipping and quality product.

Well they just go to far. Who cares if you can buy it. It seems that any drug that people "could" use for recreation is banned.

Oh if it treats skin rashes, and may kill you, that's okay...but don't have any fun with it.

As always the delicate hot house orchids rule the day. I'm sorry, but for the 2 out of thousand that die by using it stupidly, the rest should not be denied it.

Do you know how many people die from prescription drug use already? Miss use mostly, but some just bad side effects. Again this seems to be okay if no joy comes from it. :P

God we love punishing one another, but rarely help eachother.

Just a note to those who wrote they are glad ephedra was banned because they were "addicted" to it (and therefore abused it) . . . Just because you are irresponsible with it's use, you're saying that everyone should suffer because you could not control yourself with it? Pretty selfish, and quite ridiculous.

Hello all,

I am so sick of the FDA banning products (like ephedra) that actually work. Just because a few idiots want to take 5 pills on an empty stomach and go play sports, doesn't mean that they should be able to ruin it for the rest of us.

Truth is... the warning labels and directions are there. People just don't follow them. I personally took ephedra based prodcuts for years and I never had any problems with them as long as I took them as directed.

Alcolhol kills people everyday!

I just purchased some Ephedra online. I took Ephedra a few years ago; I took it for only about 3 weeks, one metabolife a day without exercise, and lost 13 pounds even though I was already thin. Now, I just had a baby and I'm having so much trouble losing the baby weight; I want to lose 60lbs. I just purchsed some Ephedra online from Canada and I'm hoping it helps me out like it has before.

I would like to find a source to buy an ephedra-containing product for sinus congestion. I find they are the only products that relieve my sinus congestion. Any sugesstions for web sites or companies would be greatly appreciated.

To anyone needing an answer to the common questions is it legal and where can I buy it, here they are: Yes, it is legal as of April 14th, 2005 when Utah based Nutraceutical challenged the ban that was put in place a year prior. It will not, however, be sold in California, New York or Illinois.
Where to buy: http://ephedraoutlet.com/

Enjoy and use with caution

My comment is this Ephedra should be leagal as long as ciggaretts are legal. I'm sure there are much more people dying from ciggarette's than frome Ephedra,on top of that ciggarette's don't just kill the people smoking them (also pregnant people smoke). So why ban something that someone chooses to do to their own bodies? Some people are actually getting healtheir taking Ephedra. The government doesn't want us healthy they are getting richer with us being sick!!!!

if you are looking for ephedra, the website www.mysupplementstore.com has numerous weight loss and sports nutrition products. highly recommend!

The real reason they banned ephedra is it can used to make speed. It would be very hard for meth labs to extract ephedra from herbal supplements but think of the problem for law enforcement. They catch a load of ephedrine coming into the country. The importer says its for fat burners or cold remedies. Maybe the importer even sells fat burners but in a secret lab they also make meth too. Good legal cover. With a total ban on ephedrine anyone importing ephedrine besides a pharmaceutical company is automatically guilty of producing speed even if there is not evidence that is what it is being used for. Makes it easy to fight meth production. The government doesn't care about want you want - its about what they want and what is easy for them. The idea that the government is accountable to the people is a joke. Since when.

Ephedra and ephedrine alkaloids from a plant form (either ma-huang or sida cordifolia) should be legal! totally legal! who wants to take the sythetic drugs? (like psedo ephedrine, ephedrine hcl, etc) we want the natural form of ephedra! with all it's powerful alkaloids! it's safe as long as you follow the guidelines on the label, and if someone is stupid enough to abuse it, that's dumb! but it should not be banned!

There's no doubt ephedra works as an appetite suppressant. For me, it curbs the amount of food I'm able eat rather than how often, which I actually prefer to a completely anorectic effect. I've achieved comparable results by creating an ECA stacker with sudafed; not as potent as pure ephedra, but still effective.

Ephedra (ma huang) has been used in China for 5000 years for its medicinal effects. The problem with many herbal substances nowadays(as with Coca plant)is that when pharmaceutical companies patent these natural products they isolate the molecular portion that is responsible for reacting with the human body. Coca Leaf=Cocaine, Ephedra=ephedrine. Go to a herbalist not your pharmacy

I took stackers with ephedra in them for years. I had NO symptoms.. Now of course I bought them under 18. I was very over-weight, and in about a year i had lost roughly 50 lbs. In a year, that's actually healthy. I could eat with them and everything.
So to people who took them when you have an eating disorder that's your own issue!
With people like me who is over-weight (because I am again) and didn't abuse them. I was 16, and I took one a day and sometimes I would even skip. And I ended up weighing 110 lbs, I'm 5'6 and I was fairly athletic once all my weight was off...
NOTHING out there is like them. I try and work out. And eat right, but those pills helped alot.
Anyone knows how to find the original let me know!!! The pills they have out now with some ephedra are crap! Or if anything is out there that is similar and works.

Does any one know where I can purchase the old Xenadrine with Ephedra in it. Or atleast purchase something comprable? I saw that ephedraoutlet.com but that site didnt work. Thanks

Everyone knows the Republican party supports pharmaceutical companies. George W. Bush and his father, who is a primary share holder of a pharmaceutical company, sought to pass a bill that would restrict the sale of ephedrine over the counter, a product that in its legal status hurt the pharmaceutical RX sales. Bush pushed to pass the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act 2005 as an amendment of the Patriot Act* which subsequently increased prescription pharmaceutical sales (blue chip stocks). The actual precursor of Methamphetamine is pseudoephedrine, not its molecular counterpart, ephedrine hcl. Ephedrine hcl products outsold it competitors 10/1, pharmaceutical companies sought to capitalize off it as a prescription drug. Ephedrine is actually safe if used in moderation, higher quantities outperform many prescription based medications with safer side effects. Now that a Democrat in office, hopefully this act that restricts our freedom* due to special interest and big business might be overturned, maybe if enough petitions are signed it can be legalized again.

where does one go to rent a "brian". p.s. totally against the ban. i took ephedra properly and lost 55 pounds.

I am so outraged they banned ephedra.
Completely lunatic for a wonderful herb that has helped millions of people to leave the market.
Prison planet earth.

I really think taking all these plants of the market is really ridiculous. The really stupid thing is they put it bad on the market but are charging a arm and leg for the stuff. It like the war on drugs they have spend or 30 billion dollars on the war not talking about casualty. I think i you are 18 you should be able to make up your own mind on what you put in your body. legalizing pot would be a good thing because they could tax it and it lot safer than opiates.

The truth is ephedra was banned only because of it's use in methanphedimines. They just use everything else as a cover story.
I've personally used this product as a weightloss supplement for a long, long time (15 yrs) and never had any negitive side effects. It's up to us to pressure them into bringing it back. Man I miss it.

They have banned liquor before, it was just to popular of a drug and to easily made to enforce. There is a reason the FDA puts restrictions on potentially dangerous and habit forming drugs. If you have medical issues and need pills to help you, then its not likely that that they'll bann a substance for that purpose.

I have been using ephedra and ephedrine for about 5 years now, as a substitute for the effect of caffeine, to which I have a bad reaction (my physician does not know exactly what it is. It is not an allergy, but caffeine causes severe indigestion-like symptoms and some difficulty urinating - I understand that these effects are rare for caffeine).

I never use more than 25 mg ephedrine, or one cap = 65 mg ephedra (alkaloids), per day, and I do not even use it every day. It gives me the caffeine-like lift I want. The ephedrine causes no problems whatsoever. The ephedra, on the other hand, causes some. It is usually fine for 4-5 days, after which it begins to cause symptoms similar to caffeine. If I lay off for a few days, I can start again, with the cycle usually repeating just as before. These symptoms are more tolerable with ephedra than with caffeine, last a shorter time, and wane faster.

From what I have seen, caffeine is more addictive, even causing some withdrawal symptoms, than either ephedra or (for the record) marijuana. I DID have withdrawal symptoms with caffeine (coffee and tea), when I used it, but none whatsoever with the others. Most people use caffeine (and MJ) for its drug effect (although we like its taste quite a bit, too).

I cannot get either ephedra or ephedrine in CA, which is a hardship. I've also had trouble determining what states ephedrine is legal in.

I think that it should be legal, with warnings based on sound science, to informed adults. And that goes double for adults who cannot drink coffee or tea, as in my case. I'm only asking for an alternative to the same effect almost every single adult achieves with caffeine. I use ephedrine very carefully, and do not believe it is causing me any harm. In any case, I take full responsibility for any harm it does cause. For me, caffeine is far more harmful.

I might add that I think it's an outrage that our nanny-state dictates to informed adults what drugs they can and cannot use. Such state-imposed prohibitions should be based purely on behavior toward others, i.e. actual crimes, not personal decisions, often medical in nature. As with marijuana, if a user behaves him (or -her) -self, the state has no business interfering with one's self medication decisions. Far too often, politics, prejudice, ignorance and bias are involved, denying adults the opportunity to make informed decisions which may be very beneficial, especially with respect to one's OWN body, if sometimes only in particular cases.

ALL drugs should ONLY be dispensed by licensed Doctors!
The government should ban cigarettes, alcohol, and even caffeine. By the way the internet SHOULD be regulated as well!!! You people need to get a life and get high on it instead; go to the park, take walks, read a book, and spend more time with your kids for goodness sake (play catch, or jump rope) so they don't grow up with mixed emotions thinking they need substances to feel good or deal with there lives.

I have a bag full of pre-ban ephedra products. I used to use them for alertness, but stopped when I changed my work shift. Of course, they are all out of date, but sealed. Am I allowed to sell them?