White Crosses, Ma-Huang, Same Dif

Once again, our ignorant leaders have jumped on a "protect the stupid" bandwagon without doing the research. I'll be writing my senator, who is supporting a ban on Ephedra, and filling him in on the legitimate medical uses for the herb, known as Ma Huang in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Ma Huang is the main ingredient in herbal prescriptions for asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory ailments. Sure, it's the natural basis for speed, but isn't regulation of an abusable drug better than an outright ban? Ma Huang is an important herb for Chinese doctors, and an FDA ban would make it impossible for them to import it from China and use it in their practices. In case you were unaware, TCM has been practiced for 4,000 years, so they kind of know what they're doing. Thank goodness the FDA stopped at warning labels, for now. They could do more positive things, for all herbs.

Currently, because the FDA does not test "herbal suppplements" for effectiveness in treating ailments, the labels cannot make any medical claims. They simply say what dosage to take and call it a dietary supplement. The problem here is that many people hear about a dietary supplement from a TV show or magazine, and don't think of it as medicine. They don't ask their doctors (many of whom don't know the first thing about herbs anyway) if herbs will interfere with current medication or their unique conditions, and they take the herbs the wrong way. They take the wrong herbs. They take them too often or for too long. Echinacea is touted all over the place as the best cold preventitive, but how often do you hear that long term use can cause liver damage in some people (it can)? If the labels on herbs could display indications, contraindications, warnings, and more complete dosage information, people would be armed with the knowledge to protect themselves, without needing the government to ban perfectly safe and effective medicines.

If people are taking Ephedra to get high or to perform better at sports or to lose weight, well, I don't care. I've done it myself. But knowing the risks can make this use safer as well. I'm for the warning labels, but a ban would just be the worst manifestation of xenophobia.