Will Brink Answers Questions on the Return of Ephedra

Q: Will. I heard the ban on ephedra products was over turned and it will be available again. Is this true? Will I be able to get my favorite supplement again.

Gerret, Manchester NH.

A: The answer to that is (drum roll) yes and no. As most people know, just over a year ago the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sale of all ephedra based dietary supplements in the US using very little actual science to support the ban.

However, a recent decision by a U.S. District Court has determined that the final ruling by the FDA to ban ephedra was invalid. However, people who enjoyed ephedra based supps should not rejoice just yet.

We all know virtually anything, be it water, air, aspirin, or ephedra, can have side effects if used improperly or by people who should avoid certain compounds such as ephedrine due to other issues (i.e., pre existing high blood pressure).

Does that mean ephedra is dangerous at any dose and for all people? Of course not! In a nut shell, the court put the burden of proof on the FDA to show that any dose of ephedrine, no matter how small, presents an unreasonable risk to users.

Translated, although high doses of ephedrine may have side effects in some individuals, there is no evidence to suggest lower doses of ephedra would have those side effects the FDA claimed to ban the sale of all ephedra based products.


So where does that leave us?

This ruling only applies to products containing 10mg or less of ephedrine based alkaloids per total daily dose, which is a very low dose and virtually worthless. So at best, for right now at least, people may be able to get low dose ephedra based products in the future, assuming the FDA does not appeal the courts decision, in which case it’s all moot and the ban will continue if the FDA wins on appeal.

Ok, now I will show just how much hypocrisy and outright bulls&%* is involved with this ban on ephedra (which contains ephedrine and various ephedrine-like alkaloids) in the first place.

People have been under the false impression they could not get ephedrine when in fact it’s been right under their nose the entire time.

Ephedrine, in the form of ephedrine HCL, is easy is to find in any drug store (at least in the US) and on the internet under the names Bronkaid, Primatene, Vasapro, and others. Many people have been using these products combined with caffeine to make their EC stacks.

How is this possible you ask? For some reason, if the supplement industry puts ephedrine in product and sells it for weight loss, it’s dangerous, but if the pharmaceutical industry puts it in products for asthma and other ailments, it’s safe.

As I have always said, the double standard used for the supplement industry vs. the pharm industry used by the FDA and the media is truly astounding, and no place is this more evident and obvious in the fact you can’t use ephedrine for weight loss but you can use it if you have the lobby power of big pharma.


To finish my rant, and to answer your question: (a) you may be able to get low dose (10mg per day or less) ephedra based products in the near future, but don’t expect to see doses of past products and day soon, and (b) it’s all pretty moot as you can get ephedrine HCL right now by walking into your local pharmacy.