Thursday, April 14, 2005

Judge Strikes Down FDA Ban on Ephedra



In the fight against Methamphetamine this is bad news:

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A federal judge Thursday struck down the FDA ban on supplements containing ephedra, the once-popular weight-loss aid that was yanked from the market after it was linked to dozens of deaths.

The judge ruled in favor of a Utah supplement company that challenged the Food and Drug Administration's ban. Nutraceutical claimed that ephedra "has been safely consumed" for hundreds of years, and that ephedra was wrongly being regulated by the FDA as a drug and not a food.

Judge Tena Campbell agreed, saying federal law places more restrictive rules on the FDA in determining whether to ban foods as opposed to drugs. The judge said the law requires the FDA to prove that a dietary supplement is harmful, rather than having the manufacturer prove it is safe, as is required with drugs.

Nutraceutical President Bruce Hough said the lawsuit had little to do with ephedra and more to do with forcing the FDA to follow the rules Congress set down for it.

Read the rest here.

Now it is up to the Congress to do their part in stopping the Unnecessary Epidemic of Methamphetamine.

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