Guest guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 From Marnae and Kevin Ergil: Yesterday, February 10, important legislation regarding the sale of Ma Huang (Ephedra) in Suffolk County passed the local legislature. The bill, sponsored by legislature Jon Cooper of Huntington, bans the sale of Ephedra in Suffolk County with one very important exception: Section 6 of the law states: " This law shall NOT apply to ma huang (Ephedra Sinensis) sold or dispensed by any practitioner of alternative medicine, whose qualification to use ma huang is explicitly established via evidence of an active certification issued to such individual from an agency accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies (NCCA), as long as it is not prescribed as a dietary supplement for weight loss, is not prescribed for body building and is not prescribed as " energy food. " At this time, the only available certification is the NCCAOM herb exam. This means that at this time, only those individuals who hold active certification from the NCCAOM may legally sell or dispense ma huang in Suffolk County. This is landmark legislation. It marks the first time that the NCCAOM herb exam has been used legislatively to give diplomates access to substances that are otherwise banned. We hope that this is the first step toward greater use of the NCCAOM herb exam in state and local legislatures and we applaud Legislator Cooper for his willingness to discuss the bill with us and to amend the bill to allow for our continued use of ma huang. Please let your colleagues know about this bill and contact us if you have any questions. In addition, you should know that another bill passed the Suffolk County legislature a few months ago banning the sale of ma huang to individuals under the age of 18. That legislation remains in effect and this new bill does not change our status in relation to that bill. Thanks to all of those who participated in the process of contacting legislators, showing up at meetings of the legislature etc. This process has been extremely labor intensive and we appreciate the support of the community. Chinese Herbs " Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds " -- Albert Einstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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