U.S. Judge Tena Campbell deserves a round of applause and a good hustle pat on the backside after throwing the December 2003 Food and Drug Administration’s ban on ephedrine out the window.

The sports supplement industry can take care of the latter portion of the before mentioned congratulations and ephedrine’s former 12 million users and I can rejoice on our own terms.

A Utah based supplement company, Nutraceutical, took on the FDA on the grounds that ephedrine has been used safely for many years, which it has.

Campbell ruled that the FDA was judging ephedrine as a food instead of a drug. FDA food regulation is more strictly enforced as compared to determining if a dietary supplement is safe or not.

Coming on the heels of a reported 155 deaths, including Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, the Bush administration placed the first-ever ban on a dietary supplement. The funny thing is that nicotine, alcohol and painkillers are killing just as many people, if not more. There is no ban on cigarettes, even though, according to the American Cancer Society, there are 440,000 deaths in the United States each year due to tobacco use.

Pharmaceutical companies, many owned by tobacco companies, could not deal with the competition of ephedrine and used money and power to push through the ban. It’s just too bad that many misinformed members of the media sided with the government and turned ephedrine use into a witch hunt.

Ephedrine is safe and those who did have serious side effects were either taking too much or were prone toward having cardiac problems. When taken in dosages no greater than 25 milligrams, ephedrine is fine. That is why you should follow the directions on the bottle and talk to your doctor before taking any form of herbal supplement.

Taking anything in excess is not a good idea and ephedrine is no exception. The same thing can also be said of aspirin and multivitamins. I’m sure that drinking three tall cups of caffeinated coffee a day is doing wonders for blood pressure and the heart.

Chinese medicine has used ephedrine safely for thousands of years and millions of levelheaded Americans were just beginning to discover its benefits. As an employee for a worldwide health and nutrition store, I have seen the following positive effects of ephedrine, touched upon in MuscleMag International’s “Anabolic Primer”, come true for athletes and dieters.

Ephedrine is ideal for the thermogenic process and is the reason many Americans were losing weight. It gives the thermogenic process, the rate at which stored body fat is burned and turned into a source of heat energy, a kick start.

When someone is dieting, muscle tissue is eaten away before fat is burned. That is why protein is pertinent when one goes on a diet. But it was also found that ephedrine does not target muscle tissue as frequently as products that don’t contain ephedrine.

Ephedrine also plays a pivotal role in endurance strength gains for many athletes and the energy gained taking the recommended dosage is incredible.

It is an excellent midday boost and even more effective when used before a grueling workout. Ephedrine increases the body’s production of norepinephrine, which results in an extended feeling of an adrenaline rush.

Ephedrine also has one more benefit that is likely to freak out diehard anti-ephedrites who claimed they would never touch it because the media reported it as dangerous. A common form of ephedrine known as pseudoephedrine is used in many over the counter cold medications to combat drowsiness. It is also highly successful at clearing out nasal congestion.

Although it is not known when ephedrine will be available for purchase, the ruling is a step in a positive direction. Hopefully ephedrine can be purchased over the counter instead of in seedy truck stops in the near future.

It is interesting that the government is concerned about ephedrine while drug and alcohol-related deaths are taking a greater toll on lives. Resources need to be reallocated to control something that is harmful when taken in any dosage, such as cocaine.

To satisfy those who have never tried ephedrine but don’t have a mind of their own to do any research and just let the government tell them what to think, warning labels should be placed on products containing ephedrine.

That way the confused don’t have to figure out the obvious on their own: always follow the recommended dosages when taking a dietary supplement and consult a physician.