Ephedra Ban

There is plenty of public confusion about the legality of ephedra products in the United States and whether it can still be purchased. Discover more about the status of the ephedra ban.

There is a reason lots of people are confused about the legal nature of ephedra diet pills and that confusion has left consumers open to scams. Those selling diet pills are pushing a lot of similar ephedra products or claiming to have the same weight loss power as ephedra.

The confusion over the situation starts back in the year 2004 when the FDA declared herbal ephedra used in any type of product for any purpose would be considered adulterated and harmful to the public therefor making it illegal to sell.

The FDA had never shown that small quantities, like 10 mg, of ephedra were not harmful. They had only tried to show that large quantities, such as 25 mg, were dangerous. The Nutraceutical Corporation challenged the legality of this aspect of the ephedra ban and in 2005 a Utah judge ruled in their favor.

The FDA was still declaring that all ephedra products were illegal and that the ban was still in place despite the fact that manufacturers continued to make ephedra diet pills. Although they were now producing lower quantity ephedra products that only contained 10 mg of the ephedra alkaloid.

In fact, the FDA used U.S. marshals to raid several companies and seized large quantities of weight loss products that contained ephedra.

Then in August of 2006 a ruling by the 10th U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the FDA's ban on all ephedra products. The marketing of ephedra in the U.S. is considered illegal and subject to disciplinary action by the FDA.

The same company, Nutraceutical Corporation, in October 2006 has issued another challenge and has filed a petition for rehearing in front of the entire 10th circuit of the US Court of Appeals saying the FDA's assessment of unreasonable risk is too rigid and gives the agency license to declare any dietary ingredient adulterated.

Ephedra weight loss pills and any product containing the herb ephedra are considered illegal by the U.S. government.

To make matters worse even though the fight still goes on in courts. Congress is making is easier for the FDA to ban any herbal product they want to, for any reason they want. They won't have to prove that the herb is dangerous. All they have to do is speak up and say the public is in danger, whether it is true or not. Overnight an herb can disappear from public access.

The effectiveness and safety of ephedra was supported by social proof in the marketplace. People bought and used ephedra for over 10 years with many of them coming back again and again to repurchase these products. Even without scientific proof that alone shows that ephedra worked and was safe.

If it had not show results it would have vanished from the market. But millions of people continued to search for it even while it was illegal and they are still searching for it today.

Learn more on the Ephedra Ban
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