So............would growing the plant be illegal? I mean just for the pretty flowers, right? :juggle:

My guess would be it is not illegal to grow for decorative purposes. I know poppies are legal.

But it would be illegal to dry it up and then ingest it?

From what I can tell from searching regulations with ephedra on the net - it would be totally legal to harvest your own. There are no laws about ephedra, only FDA regulations stating it cannot be sold over the counter and it can't be used for weight loss. They didn't ban in across the board, there are certain prescription drugs that use it (not for weight loss though). Just don't start your own line of ephedra products.

Editting to add: I am not a lawyer in real life, I just play one on the net.

Super, I like ephedra as a decongestant and it was the only thing to save me when I had pneumonia. I, for one, was very sad to see it pulled from the shelves, especially because of ignorant people who never heard of reading labels or who moderation. Was that too harsh? :p

I noticed some seeds online today and it got me thinking.........

Originally posted by chococat
Super, I like ephedra as a decongestant and it was the only thing to save me when I had pneumonia.

Yes, that is one thing they are still allowing it to be used for - some bronchitis and pnuemonia drugs.