Ma Huang Legality in the US: What’s Legal and What’s Not

The case of ephedrine is very interesting and it is not surprising that so many people commented on it and made such a fuss with each news about the legal status of this substance. Many newspapers published a series of articles commenting on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on ephedrine.

The reasons for such interest are mainly the following:

• Many people were already using over-the-counter ephedrine in the first place, you can easily imagine how concerned they were about the potential risks to their health!
• How come ephedrine, from a natural plant called Ephedra or Ma Huang, had been used safely for over 5,000 years and suddenly appeared dangerous?
• All the serious medical surveys confirmed that ephedrine had real benefits and no health hazards when used in the prescribed doses, so what was the scientific basis used by the FDA to justify this ban in the US?
• The FDA’s position apparently changed many times, and many people suspected that the pharmaceutical industry was lobbying hard to protect their financial interests. In 1997, the FDA first proposed a rule of a maximum authorized dose of ephedrine, then in 2000 the FDA stepped back, then later in 2004 the highly publicized deaths of baseball players prompted the FDA to ban again, but in 2005 this ban was lifted. for a trial in Utah! And finally, in May 2007, the US Supreme Court rejected a petition challenging the ephedrine ban, and since that date, the sale of ephedrine-containing dietary supplements has been illegal in the US. It is still legal to buy ephedrine as a bronchodilator for asthma, with maximum quantities of 3.6 grams per sale and 7.5 grams per month, with the obligation to verify the buyer’s name and address. Last but not least, Ma Huang as a pure herb can still be legally sold in the US, but not as a dietary supplement.
• The fact that a natural plant contained such an efficient fat loss product prevented pharmaceutical companies from patenting it, and was a serious loss in their potential market share in the huge and growing market for weight management – it would have been a challenge for they. find, produce and sell any other chemical with the same efficiency.
• Some people suspected that ephedrine’s easy chemical reduction to methamphetamine was the main reason the FDA wanted to accurately monitor the amounts being sold in the US and also keep track of the identity of the buyers.
• The FDA ban was also ambiguous because ephedrine could no longer be sold as a weight-loss dietary supplement, but was licensed as a bronchodilator. This kind of “gray area” made it very confusing for many people.

As a conclusion, there is no doubt that Hollywood could have written a good movie scenario out of this FDA ban! A lot of bets were on the line on that story and probably the whole truth hasn’t been revealed yet.

Legality aside, the important questions are:

• Is ephedrine effective for weight loss? Yes, without a doubt, many medical surveys have shown this.
• Is ephedrine safe? Again, yes, an evaluation of 19 medical studies is available on the CRN (Council for Responsible Nutrition) website, it indicated that all studies concluded that ephedrine did not present any risk at the prescribed dose.

To those people who ask where to buy ephedrine, we remind you again of the legal requirements: the identity of the buyer must be verified, and the maximum sales are 3.6 grams per day and 7.5 grams per month.

Our recommendation for people willing to use ephedrine as a bronchodilator would be to first consult their doctor to check for possible contraindications.

Another tip would be to avoid buying fake products online, as product information online is unclear and can lead to selection errors. We highly recommend getting help from reputable websites that feature reviews of online stores that sell ephedrine legally.