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An abundance of
research studies on ephedra can be found at PubMed.gov.
Many of the studies report the same negative findings that you would find in
studies on other stimulants such as Ritalin (warnings)
and amphetamine (news
article on its safety): overdose can lead to possible stroke, heart attack, raising of blood
pressure, addiction, etc. If Ritalin (a stimulant stronger than ephedra and
prescribed to millions of our
nation's children) is considered safe, why is there
so much negativity and condemnation for ephedra?
Given that the Chinese have been using ephedra for 5,000 years,
shouldn't they have experienced enough adverse events to be wary of it? If the FDA is so forceful in its opinion that any
amount of natural ephedra is harmful, why does it allow you to buy Big
Pharma's synthetic versions of ephedra, 240mg
pseudoephedrine and 25mg
ephedrine without a prescription? Unless natural ephedra is more dangerous
than its synthetic form, it's disingenuous to prohibit the sale of natural
ephedra if the synthetic form can be sold without a prescription!
With the FDA's condemnation of ephedra, the news media has gotten everybody
into a booing frenzy with a lynch mob mentality about ephedra. It's hard to disagree with such strong
public opinion. But ephedra doesn't deserve the bad rap! The FDA cites evidence
of a few
individuals who abused this herb. Why
should the evidence of a few bad apples be allowed to spoil our right to use ephedra?
Please also read ephedra.com's
comments about ephedra news.
Historical - written in 2004 at about
the time the FDA was to ban ephedra
Last Gasp... Death of Ephedra
While ephedra.com does not promote the use of ephedra, it does
seek to preserve freedom of choice.
Your right to choose is slipping away...
Instead of banning products, why can't the FDA
mandate that unregulated products be packaged with a bright red warning label
saying "USE AT YOUR OWN RISK" and an insert listing the risks just
like they require for prescription medicines? And as with tobacco and alcohol,
make them dispensed by a clerk that makes sure you are an adult and not an
idiot. Why is ephedra being banned while more deadly substances such as
tobacco and alcohol, are not?
If you too support the right to choose, please send letters
like the following to your congressional representatives.
Contact
your state Senators
Contact
your state Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives
Dear Honorable Congresswoman ___________,
As you know, the FDA has banned ephedra.
Only you can now abolish this ban. Please be my representative
and take into account my needs and the needs of many of your constituents that
share my needs. My needs are to continue to have America be the land of
the free and that I have the freedom to purchase and use products that I believe are
right for me while not hurting others.
This ban on ephedra is wrong for America. (What will be
next?) I find it hard to understand why the FDA wants to ban ephedra with claims that it killed a small number of
people (and an even much smaller number that followed directions and did not
abuse it) while it doesn't seek to ban tobacco and alcohol that kill hundreds of
thousands Americans each year. I am not for banning alcohol and tobacco. But why are they still legal while ephedra is being banned?
Instead of banning ephedra, why can't it be required that products containing it have warning
labels just like those for alcohol and tobacco?
To whose advantage is this ban on ephedra? The ones that
will reap the greatest reward are the pharmaceutical companies that produce
competing products. It seems pretty obvious that along with prohibiting
the importation of Canadian drugs, the ban on ephedra (with other natural remedies
to follow) strongly indicates that the FDA is subservient to the ones they supposedly
control. This needs to be fixed!
While there are people that will abuse any drug, you can't
protect them from themselves; They will damage themselves with something
else. And just as there are automobile accidents, there are also accidents
from the use of pharmaceuticals and natural drugs. But you wouldn't stop
driving because it involves risks. Why ban ephedra, a valuable natural
product when used properly. Ephedra has been shown to markedly help people lose
weight. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water! And don't take away my
freedom of choice!
Sincerely,
Voice your opinion and get involved! Check out the ephedra
forum on yahoo.com
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