Jigsaw Health does not sell any supplements containing Ephedra so I have no axe to grind in this case. But here is an example of a Federal Agency (the FDA) who I think is acting outside the freedoms that we believe that we allegedly have in America.
There is something called "due process" meaning before you punish someone, authorities are supposed to have to follow certain procedures and processes that protect the rights of the accused. The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty. But in this case the FDA considers them guilty until proven innocent. Dangerous ground!
In this case, the FDA seizes $3MM worth of product BEFORE it has legal authority to do so. The company believed it had the right to sell these products because there was a precedent from a case decided in Utah. In this case though, the FDA ignored the precedent and punished the company first before bringing the company to trial. The FDA should not be allowed to do this!
Keep in mind that the FDA allowed the sale of Vioxx for a number of years even though they KNEW it probably ca used death for about 55,000 people. In the case of ephedra, 22 people are reported to have died, all of whom were totally abusing ephedra, using very large quantities. There is clearly a huge difference in scale here. An FDA approved product kills ten of thousands while being used in the prescribed way. Ephedra is totally abused and kills 22 people and there is all out war against any company selling Ephedra products.
Also, keep in mind that many Over the Counter (OTC) medications containing the synthetic version of ephedra, ephedrine are sold everyday, in every pharmacy, WalMart, Target etc. Ephedrine can and does kill people too and yet is widely and legally available.
Now, I am not defending or recommending the use of ephedra or ephedrine for that matter. I am just pointing out that "due process" SHOULD still be a right for all Americans. The FDA hates the nutritional supplement business and does everything it can to protect the pharmaceutical industry.
America needs a different approach to oversee the nutritional supplement business.
Jigsaw Health does not sell any supplements containing Ephedra so I have no axe to grind in this case. But here is an example of a Federal Agency (the FDA) who I think is acting outside the freedoms that we believe that we allegedly have in America.
There is something called "due process" meaning before you punish someone, authorities are supposed to have to follow certain procedures and processes that protect the rights of the accused. The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty. But in this case the FDA considers them guilty until proven innocent. Dangerous ground!
In this case, the FDA seizes $3MM worth of product BEFORE it has legal authority to do so. The company believed it had the right to sell these products because there was a precedent from a case decided in Utah. In this case though, the FDA ignored the precedent and punished the company first before bringing the company to trial. The FDA should not be allowed to do this!
Keep in mind that the FDA allowed the sale of Vioxx for a number of years even though they KNEW it probably ca used death for about 55,000 people. In the case of ephedra, 22 people are reported to have died, all of whom were totally abusing ephedra, using very large quantities. There is clearly a huge difference in scale here. An FDA approved product kills ten of thousands while being used in the prescribed way. Ephedra is totally abused and kills 22 people and there is all out war against any company selling Ephedra products.
Also, keep in mind that many Over the Counter (OTC) medications containing the synthetic version of ephedra, ephedrine are sold everyday, in every pharmacy, WalMart, Target etc. Ephedrine can and does kill people too and yet is widely and legally available.
Now, I am not defending or recommending the use of ephedra or ephedrine for that matter. I am just pointing out that "due process" SHOULD still be a right for all Americans. The FDA hates the nutritional supplement business and does everything it can to protect the pharmaceutical industry.
America needs a different approach to oversee the nutritional supplement business.