I don't know if it's irrelevant to the ruling. He hasn't released it from regulation, or declared it safe or anything. I think saying "It has been taken safely" is relevant to a decision whether it needs to be banned or can maybe be regulated.

But when you say "100s of years", you aren't talking about ephedra in the form in which it was removed from the market. You're talking about herbal teas, which are a much, much weaker formulation.

I thought polar bear liver was full of Vitamin E. But I learned that from a Dick Francis novel.

Disclaimer: I'm very "legalize it all and tax it to hell" when it comes to drugs. It'd make good income for the country and, well, free up our prison systems. But, this is not an educated, read a bunch of studies, knowedgeable line if thinking. This is just my own gut.

Can you get herbal teas with ephedra in them now?

I don't believe so.

Then I stand by my point.

Yes, you can still buy ephedra tea, at least according to my Googling.

The FTC actions challenge false advertising claims that the ephedra supplements cause rapid, substantial, and permanent weight-loss without diet or exercise, and that “clinical studies” or “medical research” prove these claims. The FTC also challenges claims that the ephedra weight-loss products are “100% safe,” “perfectly safe,” or have “no side effects.”

So we aren't talking about "Aunt Nellie's Ma Huang, eat at own risk". We're talking about a human-altered drug, taken in highly concentrated form, with false claims of safety.

I'm not arguing that it's safe, or should be labelled as safe, or that the manufacturers should not be held accountable for misleading claims. I may be reading the article wrong, but it sounds to me as if the judge's decision just punted the whole thing back to the FDA for something other than an outright ban.

The president just drove by, or his dummy-cade, (oh wait, they are the same thing) my house on his way to a baseball game about 12 blocks from here.

I guess that whole Middle East peace thing, the war on terror and our exploding budget have been sorted.

Brilliant. I guess he deserves a break.

Have a hot dog for me W.