Legislators try to ban ephedra

An Indiana bill prohibiting the sale of ephedra or products containing a form of ephedrine passed the Senate last week by a margin of 47-1 but stalled in the House. State Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, and State Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, sponsored the bill, which was co-sponsored by State Rep. Klinker, State Rep. Scholer, and State Rep. T. Brown. Senate Bill 368 was referred to the Committee on Courts and Criminal Code and will not be revisited until next session. The bill would have upgraded the classification of the sale of ephedra in Indiana to a Class A misdemeanor.\nWelch said while the bill's death is regrettable, it may be covered by new federal regulations.\n"Unfortunately that bill did not receive a hearing in the house. I'm disappointed that it did not," Welch said. "Maybe one of the reasons the chairman did not approve the bill is because things are moving forward with the federal government. But we know that sometimes things don't always get done by our federal government and consistently they have taken two steps forward and one step back. Even though the rules that ban ephedra should be going into place sometime this year, there's still no guarantee. I regret that we did not get it passed."\nOn Dec. 30, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration issued a consumer alert on dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids. On Feb. 6, the FDA issued a final ruling prohibiting the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids.\n"This FDA rule reflects what the scientific evidence shows -- that ephedra poses an unreasonable risk to those who use it," Health and Human Services Spokesman Tommy G. Thompson said in a statement last week.\nFDA Commissioner Mark McClellan said this final ruling will be a platform for the FDA to enact its previous alert about the sale of ephedra. \n"In December, we advised consumers to stop using ephedra products, and we asked responsible companies to stop selling them," McClellan said in a press release. "We intend to use this regulation to make sure consumers are protected by removing these risky products from the market."\nCheryl Thomas, a pharmacist at the IU Health Center, shares the FDA's belief that ephedra-containing substances have the potential to cause serious damage.\n"Ephedra can cause a number of harmful side effects, including death, because of an increased heart rate," Thomas said. "It's sort of a cousin to cocaine, really. It's milder than cocaine but it's along the same lines."\nThough ephedra can be found in a number of drugs, Thomas said the stimulant is most commonly used for three reasons.\n"Ephedra is usually used in weight lifting supplements, weight loss supplements and even to help to stay awake," Thomas said. "And it's frequently sold in truck stops for this reason."\n-- Contact staff writer Sarah Schwimmer at sschwimm@indiana.edu.