Watching CNN ephedra coverage: is ban a Mad Cow distraction?

[DeepModem Mom]

Watching CNN's breaking-news ephedra ban coverage -- why now? Is this to distract from Mad Cow coverage, and possible stories about Bush administration negligence, by showing that people are being protected from ephedra? Carol Lin just asked Tommy Thompson, "Why now?", since dangers of ephedra have been apparent a long time. He said -- surprise -- that the Clinton administration had done nothing, and that there is a long lead time between beginning required studies, etc., and actual ban.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. But clinton their favorite line

It is government policy actually for these goons

[veganwitch]

2. bingbingbing....we have a winner!!!!!

[Mairead]

11. yup, sounds that way to me, too

Do something meaningless that will irritate people and take their minds off the real issues.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. They should have banned the junk ages ago

and no, it won't make us forget about the mad cows, so if it's a distraction it's a lousy one.

[Walt Starr]

4. I disagree, it should not be banned

It's just a continutation of the failed war on some drugs. They've just added another naturally occurring drug to the banned list in order for a newer, more dangerous, syntheic drug to be pushed upon the populace as a replacement.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. So we should leave it on the market

despite the fact that it's dangerous and has no proven value?

[Walt Starr]

9. We leave syntehic caffeine on the market

when it is more dangerous than Ephedra.

Why the fuck not? We leave tobacco on the market. We leave sugar on the market. We leave chocolate on the market. These are all dangerous and I daresay tobacco has killed thousands upon thousands of times more people than Ephedra.

Nope, just more of the same ole same ole War on SOME drugs. Ephedra is a natural herb with no profit in it for the big corporations, so ban it.

[FloridaPat]

12. Now you've gone too far - chocolate! Chocolate is good for

you. Makes people happy. Makes my day. Three cheers for chocolate!! It just has the reputation of being bad because they put that bad sugar in it!

[Walt Starr]

22. Sorry, if Ephedra should be banned, so chould chocolate.

Peanuts kill a lot of people too, maybe we should ban peanuts too.

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. So you are saying that nothing should be banned, ever?

If not banned, then regulated? If ephedra has more positive potential than danger, then would it be reasonable to regulate it?

And what about mad cows? Should we not regulate the beef industry, and ban feed made from other cows? Or is even that sort of ban a bad idea?

[Walt Starr]

27. Nothing should be banned ever

Legalize it all, but I agree with regulation to a point. regulate ephedra like alcohol. If you're under 21, no ephedra for you, but adults should have a free and clear choice in the matter.

I believe the same should hold true for cannabis, cocaine, heroin, morphine, or anything else. Tax it. Regulate it to keep it out of the hands of children, but never criminalize it.

[Mairead]

13. Yes. And it does have a proven value

It's very good for temporarily boosting metabolism without also boosting insulin production (something that drinking lots of coffee for the caffeine does). As people age, it becomes harder and harder to maintain a healthy weight EVEN WITH a sensible vegetarian diet and exercise. Ephedra, used carefully, can help with that.

Yes, some people will screw up and kill themselves. But some people will also bungee jump, dive into shallow water, drive/ride faster than road conditions allow, etc. We shouldn't be trying to force-save adults from themselves, I don't think. It's more or less impossible, to begin with, and it's too easy to put the screws to the powerless while leaving the powerful free of any restriction.

[Abe Linkman]

24. Just like certain would-be politicians from minority parties

despite the fact they could cause the election to go to the evil bushman
who has no value except to rich people and corporations

[baby_bear]

5. Tacky Thompson- I couldn't believe he actually said that

I was half-listening to the broadcast when I heard him say that the Clinton administration had done nothing about the drug. You would have thought that banning it had been the first order of business of the Bush administration or something. Hey Tommy, you've been there three years, buddy.

What a smarmy remark. Consider the source.

s_m

[SlavesandBulldozers]

6. "They hate us because of our freedoms"

The same freedoms we work tirelessly to rid you, The Merkan People, of.

-Yours,

The Management.

[Abe Linkman]

7. Distraction? Yes. Winner for the GOP? YES. Good idea? NO.

The gov't has no right telling you what you can put in your body (or whom, for that matter).

YES, the timing shows it's being done as a distraction.

YES, it's a winner for the GOP (helps cement support of "do gooders" who like Gov't intervention in personal behavior that "they" don't indulge in because it's "immoral" or "harmful" etc.). Nice GOPers can get better drugs from their physician (REAL amphetamines, not sissy imitations like Ehphedra).

NO, it's a terrible idea that sets a precedent for banning all kinds of other products.

[tom_paine]

20. What does the Imperial Family care about expanding government power?

It's not like they are conservatives or anything.

[hobbes159]

10. I think you're right

It does prove to be a good distraction. I feel so strange, though, for actually supporting something that this administration is doing -- from what I've read about the stuff, ephedra can be pretty dangerous....

Of course, the other possibility is that the pharmasuitical industry is losing market share to over-the-counter supplements, and wants to cut down on the competition....

[Walt Starr]

21. Licorice Root can kill ya!

BAN HERBAL TEA!!!!!

Seriously, if you have even slightly high blood pressure, Licorice Root will kill you dead.

[Abe Linkman]

23. The internet can be pretty dangerous, too. Wanna ban THAT?

n/t

[FloridaPat]

14. Reagan and Bush I didn't do anything either. But the FDA

sure acted fast to pull off the antidepressant l-trypophan when there were a couple of deaths and they found the factory that made the bad batch. That was right around the time the first perscription anti-depressant came to market. Hmmm.

Ephedra works great for what it was intended - making breathing easy. But people noticed it made them loose weight, so the multibillion dollar weight loss business has been selling ever since then. Now there's another fraud. If there really was a cure of being overweight, all those companies would go out of business. Sure can't have that.

[hippiechick]

15. Distraction from a pharm coup, perhaps ...

It was mentioned in another thread that OTC diet pills that contain Ephedra are much more affordable than Meridia, which of course is an Rx and muy expensivo for average peeps like us.

Methinks that this is another small payback from the BFEE to the pharm companies.

I think Ephedra can be some nasty shit if your body can't handle it - I've taken Stacker II and gotten nauseous, shaky, and headachy but I learned to leave it alone. If they start to ban herbals because they feel the need to 'keep us safe' (or keep the market safe for the pharm's)... what's next ? Feverfew (a natural headache remedy) ? St. Johns Wort ? JMHO ~

:hippie:

[kerry-is-my-prez]

16. It was banned months ago. This might be PR for the "vitamin ban" bill

It will help to "muddy" the waters so people will think that this is an "ephedara" issue and not just vitamins.

[Caution]

17. Nope. It is a Plame Affair distraction.

[DeepModem Mom]

18. Yeah, special prosecutor story broke a little later....

I think ephedra makes more sense as distraction from Mad Cow (another public health issue) -- but, hey, maybe Rove trying for two birds with one stone --

[Dogmudgeon]

19. Cui Bono? Meridia!

Ephedrine (the active chemical in Ephedra) has been estimated by the highly scientifically trained professionals in the field of Journalism as killing 100 people per year. The FDA numbers fluctuate with each PR initiative, usually coming in at 20-50 dead and 500-5000 "adverse" reactions from jitteriness to stroke.

Meridia (sibutrame) has been on the market for five years, and has already been strongly implicated in about as many deaths, a very high percentage of adverse reactions, with maybe 5% the number of doses used.

Here's a breakdown of the one-dose cost:

Meridia 15 mg.................$3 - $8
Meridia 10 mg.................$2.50 - $7

Ephedrine 25 mg.............$0.11 - $1.00
+ Caffeine 200 mg..........$0.06 - $0.75

Meridia is usually given twice a day; Ephedrine "stacks" three times a day.

Abbott Labs and Public Citizen (Ralph Nader and Dr. Sidney Wolfe) have formed a "strange bedfellows" coalition to ban ephedra. (The irony is that Public Citizen also wants to ban sibutramine.) And it looks like the FDA chose today to do so because of negative publicity over yet another batch of Team Bush scandals.

Who benefits? Meridia and Abbott Labs.

--bkl

[Walt Starr]

25. DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!!

Yes folks, we have a winner! This was done at the behest of pharmaceutical companies during a time when the administration needed some distraction, especially with news of a ... DUM DUM DUM!!!!....special Prosecutor being appointed in Plamegate.

Those silly old herbal remedies aren't any good, come get our synthesized goodness from pharmaceutical companies instead!

There's no profit in medication which can be grown in your back yard.