Ephedra

Popular as natural stimulant, Ephedra is a plant traditionally used by Native Indians for a large number of medicinal purposes, also known as Ma Huang in traditional Chinese medicine, which it’s usage dates back to 5,000 years ago. As a modern drug, Ephedra is the compound of numerous products and over the counter medications.

The active constituents of the plant are pseudoephedrine and alkaloids ephedrine, both potential harmful chemicals. Ephedra is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and there are many reports of deaths associated with the use of this stimulant. High dosage of this stimulant may cause stroke, heart attacks, and seizures.

In the United States and many countries worldwide, Ephedra is marketed as a powerful weight-loss medication. Because many people are wanting to get rid of extra pounds as soon as possible, taking more than the recommended dosage is a common practice leading to potential injuries as the brain is stimulated and the heart rate increased.

Ephedra constricts blood vessels, resulting in increasing blood pressure, in addition to side effects such as dizziness, irritability, trembling, nervousness, headache, vomiting and hyperthermia, an acute condition occurring when the body produces more heat than it can dissipate. Ephedra has also been associated to Alternative Medicine, which makes it harder to follow up when it come to class action lawsuits.

As a dietary supplement, Ephedra is subject to FDA regulation, finding an increasing number of reports due to potential injuries caused by Ephedra. From those reports, at least 100 people have died, including a popular user, the 23-year-old Baltimore Oriole pitcher Steve Bechler, who died during spring training in 2003 as result of ephedra toxicity.

Research from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) supported the FDA decision of banning Ephedra, which includes all dietary supplements with this stimulant, but excluding traditional Chinese herbal remedies and medications or products containing the synthetic form of ephedrine.

There are 16,000 documented adverse effects resulting from the use of Ephedra, the reason why numerous class action lawsuits have been take to court since ephedra-containing products were banned on April 12, 2004. Because of the nature of Ephedra, there are numerous manufacturers and sellers involved in nationwide lawsuits, instead of a single pharmaceutical as occurs with other drugs.

In 2004, a 35-year woman experienced brain damage after a stroke, resulting from taking ephedra weight-loss products. A Texan jury awarded her with $7.4 million against the ephedra seller. The year before, an Ephedra manufacturer had to pay $12.5 million to consumers, when a California judge found the company responsible for injury due to ephedra-containing weight-loss supplements.

The many Ephedra retailers and the countless number of distributors over the Internet has increased the number of class action lawsuits, due to the numerous injuries that people have suffered after using ephedra products. Victims are entitled to receive compensation, especially those who have experienced bleeding in the brain and hemorrhagic stroke.

Manufacturer of the Ephedra product that killed pitcher Steve Belcher was sued by his widow, who filed a $600 million lawsuit in 2003.