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ephedra ban
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It's a safe product when used properly, problem is that people tend to abuse medications and supplements in the US -- more is better. 
The herbal supplement market always says -- herbs are safe, drugs are not. It's natural.
Yet herbals have the same medical complications/interactions that drugs do.
Too much ephedra with other products that boost you blood pressure/pulse rate (ie, coffee/Red Bull, OTC/prescription meds, etc.) along with excercise, etc. and you'll crash medically.
The herbal supplement market always says -- herbs are safe, drugs are not. It's natural.
Yet herbals have the same medical complications/interactions that drugs do.
Too much ephedra with other products that boost you blood pressure/pulse rate (ie, coffee/Red Bull, OTC/prescription meds, etc.) along with excercise, etc. and you'll crash medically.
Not really a black and white issue...much more gray
I can see two sides of this argument. The first is that the government shouldn't tell you what you can and can't do. I mean, just because some people are allergic to peanuts, does that mean everyone shouldn't be aloud to eat them? However, the second side says that this drug has caused many problems, and even death. I do think its ban could possibly prevent deaths, especially among athletes and unsupervised use by people prone to heart trouble.
Overall, I really don't know if this is beneficial to society, or is one small step closer to a dictatorship. I personally am not affected, because I never have or wanted to use Ephedra.
By the way, sweet aviator Sun Baked!
--Waluigi
I can see two sides of this argument. The first is that the government shouldn't tell you what you can and can't do. I mean, just because some people are allergic to peanuts, does that mean everyone shouldn't be aloud to eat them? However, the second side says that this drug has caused many problems, and even death. I do think its ban could possibly prevent deaths, especially among athletes and unsupervised use by people prone to heart trouble.
Overall, I really don't know if this is beneficial to society, or is one small step closer to a dictatorship. I personally am not affected, because I never have or wanted to use Ephedra.
By the way, sweet aviator Sun Baked!
--Waluigi
Anyone who died from ephedra was overdosing. Like that pitcher, he was using more than twice the suggested dosage.
I believe ephedra should be legal.
I believe ephedra should be legal.
Who's Stacked up with 1000000 Bottles of Pills like me?
No really, when you take 1 Pill a day:
Fine
When you go 'ARNOLD NEED MORE EPHEDRA' and start taking 2-4 pills you have gone overboard.
No really, when you take 1 Pill a day:
Fine
When you go 'ARNOLD NEED MORE EPHEDRA' and start taking 2-4 pills you have gone overboard.
i have no love for ephedra, but i don't think the government should regulate any drug in general... Citizens aren't children, they can make their own decisions about what stupid drugs they use.
paul
paul
paulwhannel:
I agree that people should be allowed to take any drugs they want. However, there should be some sort of license that a seller must obtain that certifies all of the products he sells are exactly as stated on the ingredients lists and that he furnishes documentation of all known effects/side effects of each drug during every transaction. That way, people have the freedom to do as they wish, but they won't be bamboozled into purchasing a drug that does not contain the stated ingredients (i.e. impure cocaine, meth, etc.). It should be illegal to sell drugs to children until age eighteen.
The manufacture of drugs should also be regulated, especially as to their location. I'm fine with methamphetamines being legal, but I really don't want it being manufactured next door.
I agree that people should be allowed to take any drugs they want. However, there should be some sort of license that a seller must obtain that certifies all of the products he sells are exactly as stated on the ingredients lists and that he furnishes documentation of all known effects/side effects of each drug during every transaction. That way, people have the freedom to do as they wish, but they won't be bamboozled into purchasing a drug that does not contain the stated ingredients (i.e. impure cocaine, meth, etc.). It should be illegal to sell drugs to children until age eighteen.
The manufacture of drugs should also be regulated, especially as to their location. I'm fine with methamphetamines being legal, but I really don't want it being manufactured next door.
I personaly love ephedrine (anyone know if it will be affected by the ephedra ban?). It's very popular with college students (or at least my freinds) on tight time constraints, helps with focus and simply staying awake when studying or writing papers.
I think they are probably banning it not because of potential health concerns, but because of the relative ease of converting it to meth. It's simply a backdoor way of fighting the "war on drugs".
i'll be stocking up as soon as i get my financial aid.
I think they are probably banning it not because of potential health concerns, but because of the relative ease of converting it to meth. It's simply a backdoor way of fighting the "war on drugs".
i'll be stocking up as soon as i get my financial aid.
I have used ephedra ocassionally for about four years now. No problem so far. I have a 90 pill bottle with about 70 left. I've had this bottle for close to a year, so it should last a while. I may buy a couple more bottles, just in case.
I really don't like the government telling us what we can do with our bodies. Every bottle of an ephedra product I have ever purchased has had warnings on it, to the point that it made me nervous about taking them for a while. I chose to continue, on occassion. I don't need the government to hold my hand.
I really don't like the government telling us what we can do with our bodies. Every bottle of an ephedra product I have ever purchased has had warnings on it, to the point that it made me nervous about taking them for a while. I chose to continue, on occassion. I don't need the government to hold my hand.
I think the FDA or the Gov. should be regulating drugs. Before the FDA and one of the reasons why the US created the FDA, companies and people mixed all kinds of herbs, sugar and crap together then add tons of cocaine and claim that it could cure all kinds of diseases. That's how Coke was made, it started as a cure for some disease that had tons of cocane in it. Someone bought the formula and changed the flavor. People complained that it had way too much cocaine in it and that it wasn't good for kids. So they redid the formula and got rid of all the coke in it.
People started to get angry that almost the medine for sale just contaied cocaine and wouldn't cure anything and wanted the gov. to make sure they really worked. So thats where we get the FDA today. If we didn't have the FDA I think it would be a bad. Diet pills would just contain tape worm eggs. In the 70's some people got arrested making and selling them.
People started to get angry that almost the medine for sale just contaied cocaine and wouldn't cure anything and wanted the gov. to make sure they really worked. So thats where we get the FDA today. If we didn't have the FDA I think it would be a bad. Diet pills would just contain tape worm eggs. In the 70's some people got arrested making and selling them.
Coca-Cola didn't just contain cocaine willy-nilly as a supposed cure-all. Coca-Cola originally contained EXTREMELY trace amounts of cocaine as an a result of using coca leaves as an ingredient. The only change made to the recipe was to fully extract the cocaine from the coca leaves prior to making the Coca-Cola. To this day, The Coca-Cola Company has the only US license to import coca, and the government strictly monitors the cocaine extraction and destruction.
The FDA got it's bite to protect the citizens from idiot chemists/companies in 1930's due to Elixir Sulfanilamide.
Sulfa drugs were wonder drugs back then but nobody could get it to disolve into a liquid form, enter a chemist at Massengill who was able to get the sulfa powder to disolve in diethylene gycol (aka, antifreeze).
And the crap passed all the safety checks, but 100+ people died. And the FDA could do nada, except slap Massengill for incorrectly labeling the product as containing alchohol.
Months after the tragedy the FDA got it's teeth (Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act of 1938).
Fast forward to 2003...
Now idiots taking supplements are being protected a bit more.
Sulfa drugs were wonder drugs back then but nobody could get it to disolve into a liquid form, enter a chemist at Massengill who was able to get the sulfa powder to disolve in diethylene gycol (aka, antifreeze).
And the crap passed all the safety checks, but 100+ people died. And the FDA could do nada, except slap Massengill for incorrectly labeling the product as containing alchohol.
Months after the tragedy the FDA got it's teeth (Food, Drugs, and Cosmetic Act of 1938).
Fast forward to 2003...
Now idiots taking supplements are being protected a bit more.
the fda is supposed to protect us from fradulant claims and dangerous drugs, I hardly think that a few idiots dieing from overdoses administered inspite of clear warnings on the drugs (herbs) packaging qualifies as dangerous. why punish everyone for the actions of the stupid minority? tylenol can kill, ibprophen can kill, as can seudephed (pseudo ephedrine) and nyquil; ephedra is only being targeted because it is a drug used by a small minority of people and thus there will be little public outcry. Will college students such as myself be forced to turn to more expensive substitutes such as ritlan, meth, and adderall in order to overcome the devestating effects of procrastination? I say no. Given my pidly financial aid and lack of decent connections I, like many others, will be forced to crush up and snort several time release seudaphed simply to get the buzz I need to finish my papers the night before (instead of the 3 ephedra I am accoustomed to taking).
Re: ephedra ban
Eliminating cheap alternatives & raw natural sources is just good business:
see your doctor for a list of modern medicines for your comfort and satisfaction - one of them is right for you!
These are not the droids you're looking for....
Move along.
Those who have financial stakes in officially-approved and standardised industrial products & people.
Eliminating cheap alternatives & raw natural sources is just good business:
see your doctor for a list of modern medicines for your comfort and satisfaction - one of them is right for you!
These are not the droids you're looking for....
Move along.
Millions of people used this product and like what, a hundred died? I bet you could make an argument that just as many people died when taking Tylenol and somehow link their deaths to acetometiphan. sp? And, as someone said, most of the deaths occured from overdoses or people with high risks of heart problems... i.e. Fatty McGee popping some pills and deciding to go for some wind sprints.
The only grip I had with ephedra is that I found it to be somewhat addicting. I grew to love the increased energy, and felt tired when I wasn't on it. I guess that's why the directions say to only take it up to 12 weeks at a time.
The only grip I had with ephedra is that I found it to be somewhat addicting. I grew to love the increased energy, and felt tired when I wasn't on it. I guess that's why the directions say to only take it up to 12 weeks at a time.
oh it's worse than that. It's quite well documented that THOUSANDS of people die as a direct result of taking asprin EACH YEAR!!!
but as we all know, nobody's EVER died from smoking marijuanna, and of all the supposed ecstacy deaths, the ones actually resulting from ecstacy could be counted on one hand, and those 2 drugs probly take up most of the anti-drug literature you see nowadays.
clearly death is not the real issue....
and btw, meth is made from pseudoephedrine, NOT ephedra
How do you die from Hot Tap Water?
I mean you could get burns... or drown in it... but... No burn would kill you and... drowning is a separate category (one would think)...
What the heck.
"Get Ephedra:
Located at your nearest Drug Dealer!"
I mean you could get burns... or drown in it... but... No burn would kill you and... drowning is a separate category (one would think)...
What the heck.
"Get Ephedra:
Located at your nearest Drug Dealer!"
I really do wish I could agree with you, but a typical trip down into some of the less wealthy neighbourhoods shows that all to often, that isn't the case. Whether it's a case of bad environment or just stupid decisions, many people hurt themselves with drugs which obviously do more harm than good. eg. heroin (which does have medicinal use actually), cocaine, etc. come to mind
From the web:
Hot water, including tap water in bathtubs and showers, is the leading cause of both scalds and hospital admissions for burns (1). Each year approximately 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths occur in the home due to scalding from excessively hot tap water. The majority of these injuries involve the elderly and children under the age of five (2). It takes less than 3 seconds to produce a partial-thickness burn when the water temperature is 145°F, but with a water temperature of 120°F it would take much longer-approximately 5 minutes (3). Since infants, young children and the elderly may not be able to respond quickly to a situation involving contact with hot water, a constant safe water temperature is essential for preventing scalds from tap water.
Alright people! That's enough with this hot water business. If you keep posting this, somebody is going to read it and start pushing for tighter restrictions on water heaters!
I totally agree... the US doesn't have a drug problem we have a drug education problem. If people were told how dangerous Ephedra was if mis-used, then maybe deaths would have been prevented.
I've read that Non Steroidal Anti Inflamitory Drugs (NSAID's) account for over 8000 deaths annually. Tobacco related deaths 430,000 annually and Alcohol related deaths 100,000 annually.
I believe that the deaths caused by Ephedra last year were just over 150. That seems like a pretty small percentage to me.
Also as you pointed out marijuana caused 0 (zero) deaths annually.
The thing that worries me most about ecstacy (not knowing anything about it) is that there is NO regulation on how to make it, so some hack chemist could screw up a batch, and that could lead to overdoses... admitidly I'm naive here, and haven't done my research.
Overall, I think the US Govt. Ban on Ephedra sucks, and is a distraction to keep our attention away from real problems - or it is a ploy to make it easier for them to pass a law banning RU486 when it trys to get FDA approval.