california bans ephedra?

Its gonna happen, it will just take time to work its way across the states.

I already live in a country that ephedrine is a controlled substance. Sucks, and I am not willing to try and import it only to lose it.
 
David Greenwalt has a nice article at Powerstore about ephedra, where he also talks about how they blame ephedra for deaths:

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Let's Review Three Specific Cases Which The FDA Claims Are Adverse Events Caused by Ephedrine

Young Man Dies And is Found With Head in Garbage Bag. Several Drugs Found in Toxicology Report. Ephedrine Partially at Blame? You Decide.

Document #10862
The FDA claim: A 20 year old male took 8 tablets of Ultimate Xphoria at 4PM. Within 30 minutes he complained of being hot with sweating and heat exhaustion. He was found dead by friends 8 hours later. The coroners report notes toxic levels of ephedrines. Dr Mowery writes, "I have avoided reviewing most Adverse Event Reports (AERs) involving products promoted to induce euphoria or get high because they are intended to be abused and I agree completely that the DSHEA was not intended to protect such products from being sold and used. However, due to the notorious nature of this case, a careful review is warranted. Although the decedents companions generally maintain that they bought a single 24 tablet packet of Xphoria and each took eight tablets all at once, one boy admitted to taking two and a half Nexus and the other boy admitted taking a couple of extra, maybe a total of nine of the Xphoria. An analysis of blood reveals that the level of ephedrine alkaloids present in the blood of the deceased is greater than expected from the consumption of just eight tablets and the presence of Phenylproponalamine (PPA) is a remarkable finding since neither of the products in question list this substance on the ingredient panel. Where did it come from? On the Sixteenth of March, the autopsy was deemed inconclusive as to cause of death and that, "As of that date the victims death not linked to the herbal product".
Never the less on the 17th the autopsy report states, "The cause of death, cardiac arrhythmia due to synergistic effect of ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine, phenylproponalamine, and caffeine. Manor of death, accident (self ingestions of Ultimate Xphoria)". There was no mention of Nexus. Apparently forgotten in all this was the testimony of the witness who found the decedent with his head stuffed in a plastic garbage bag. The deposition clearly suggests the possibility of suffocation, an issue not addressed in the autopsy report at all. Yet another important fact not addressed in this adverse event reported is the possible role of nutmeg in this fatality. Nutmeg contains the hallucinogen myristicin. Nobody knows what kind of effect on the mind and body might occur by a combination of PPA, Ephedrine and myristicin. The conclusion that ephedrine is the primary cause of adverse events in this adverse event reported ignores a host of confounded variables and equally compelling hypothesis. That some form of abuse is involved is unquestionable. Certainly the product was not being consumed according to label directions. There is no protecting the public from it's own stupidity. All we can hope to do is provide adequate label warnings where necessary.

27 Year Old Male Dies From Cranial Injuries After Being Thrown From Vehicle in Accident. Ephedrine Not Found in Blood. Wife Verbally States Husband Was Taking Ripped Fuel. Ephedrine Blamed. Huh?

Document #11441
The FDA claim: A 27 year old male died secondary to injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident and had been reportedly taking Ripped Fuel. This case is extremely ridiculous and demonstrates yet again how desperate the FDA is to make it's case against Ma Huang.
Here we find a man who loses control of this vehicle and is thrown out as it rolls, he dies of cranial injuries. A blood and urine analysis reveals the presence of phenturmine in both samples. His wife however claims he doesn't use drugs but has been using Ripped Fuel (at less than the daily recommended dose) for three years. Analysis of Ripped Fuel failed to discover phenturmine of course. Analysis of blood and urine failed to find ephedrine alkaloids of any kind. So why is an adverse even reported against Ma Huang? Note" This was another example of a complaint registered after the deceased's wife saw a media report and FDA press release about Ma Huang. The husband had consumed a bottle of Coke right before the accident. What would happen if the FDA put out an alert on Coke products? How many of these
kinds of adverse events reported would such an alert generate? It boggles the mind. The presence of phenturmine in the blood and urine implicates the consumption of the Phen-Fen diet by the deceased in spite of the wife's allegations to the contrary.

55 Year Old Woman Experiences Seizure. Is Following Program Containing Diuretics, Laxatives and Ephedrine. Loses 5 Pounds in 3 Days Prior to Seizure. Ephedrine to Be Blamed?

Document #10437
The FDA claims: A 55 year old female reports a grand mal seizure after Thermojetics Herbal Tablets. Typical of almost every adverse event reported is the assumption that Ma Huang is the only possible ingredient or explanation for observed adverse events. This is a case in point, so certain is the investigator that Ma Huang is the culprit that he doesn't even bother to spell out the other ingredients in the
three products that make up the Thermojetics program. The clue to this case is the comments made by this patient's husband that his wife had lost 5 lbs on the program in just three days. This kind of weight loss is only obtained by abuse of diuretics and laxatives, both of which are in the Thermojetics program in abundance. The patients complaint of dehydration further supports this explanation. There is some disagreement about whether the patient had begun to participate in a karate class (a paramedics statement) or was just waiting to begin (Husbands statement). Assuming some participation had begun (even if just warm-ups), the acute state of dehydration coupled with the electrolyte imbalances created by laxative and diuretic consumption could have triggered the seizure. There is nothing about this adverse event reported that demonstrates a cause effect relationship between Ma Huang and the seizure that fulfills the criteria necessary as we defined earlier regarding what the FDA must prove before a product can be sanctioned.
Click to expand...

It seems that if you die and one person can testify that he has heard you saying the word "ephedra", the FDA has already determined the cause of death.
 
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that ephedrine is innocent. I have experienced the prostate enlargment myself. I had dysouria and frequent urgency, I had to decrease the dose for the symptoms to go away. In fact, I'm not even a fan of ephedrine since in my case the results were minimal and the side effects notable.

But this is different from banning the substance and blaming it for irrelevant deaths. It's hypocrisy, they should ban coffee, tobacco and alcohol before they even start to talk about ephedra.
 
I found Jackie Speier's website, and am sending her an angry email. Here it is:
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]
Ephedrine, despite being one of the safest diet drugs available, is also one of the most effective. I'm appalled that you would author a bill proposing its ban in California. Do you even understand how the drug works? Ephedrine and caffeine combine to cause nervous system arousal and raise base metabolism. Ephedrine has been shown through numerous studies to be effective at burning fat while sparing muscle; no small surprise that many professional athletes, bodybuilders, and even average joes are taking it. It is also completely safe, as long as the directions are followed. Many of the FDA cited cases that link ephedrine with death show a shaky link at best. One young man was found with his head in a garbage bag, but nothing was mentioned of suffocation in the autopsy report; his ephedrine was immediately blamed. The autopsy report was actually unable to find anything conclusive, yet maintained that, "As of that date the victims death not linked to the herbal product." Yet the very next day, it had been changed, fingering ephedrine abuse as the cause. Doesn't that seem a tad fishy? Yes, ephedrine is dangerous when label instructions are ignored, but so is alcohol, aspirin, and any host of prescription drugs. To single out ephedrine for ban makes absolutely no sense, as its potential for abuse is no greater than that of any of the aforementioned. I don’t currently use ephedrine, but I had been toying with the idea of trying it. If a ban is pushed through I will merely order my ephedrine online, and continue to use it in a responsible manner.

-**** ****, UC Berkeley student
Click to expand...
-Calkid
 
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