Driving home late one night, I heard an advertisement on the radio for Herbal Ecstasy, the new “all natural” drug of choice that simulates the high of the illegal drug Ecstasy. The commercial claimed that the drug was not only all natural, but a completely safe alternative to illegal street drugs.
Although I did not know much about Herbal Ecstasy, I found it hard to believe that any mind altering drug was completely safe. And even though the drug is legal, how could it be advertised on the radio, urging people, especially teenagers and college students who would most likely be listening to that station at that hour, to purchase the drug for “only $19.99 for 10 tablets” through the mail?
Global World Media Corp., the Venice, Calif., company that created Herbal Ecstasy and has sold 10 million five-tablet packages, claims that the drug is not harmful in the least. According to Newsweek, Robert Kessler, executive vice president of U.S. marketing and sales for the company, says the drug is “well within the bounds of acceptable safety.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only received a few complaints about the drug thus far, but agency officials say that this is probably because the drug is so new. While Herbal Ecstasy has been on the market for about two years, it was not until this summer that it became popular.
Though there have been no specific conclusions reached about Herbal Ecstasy, federal and state officials are concerned because the product contains a mix of herbal stimulants, including ma huang (or ephedra) and kola nut, guarana and green tea (all of which contain caffeine). The same mix of ephedra and caffeine is also found in some weight-loss and energy products, and has caused heart attacks, nerve damage, strokes and even death.
If this is not enough proof against the “safe and all-natural” aspect of the drug, a look at just a few case studies can reinforce the negative perspective.
During the Lollapalooza tour this summer, teenagers flocked to booths selling Herbal Ecstasy and suffered the consequences.
In Austin, Texas, a dozen or more concertgoers fell victim to rapid heart rates, shaking and other symptoms consistent with ephedra side effects as a result of taking the drug.
At another venue in Georgia, a 16-year-old named Valerie and her friend were tired, so they took the drug for the pick-up that the vendor promised.
“The vendor told us these little blue pills were a safe, all-natural energy source with no side effects and that we needed to take a lot,” she told a Newsweek reporter. Valerie, who weighs about 110 pounds, took 10 pills, and her friend, who is heavier, took 15.
Within 30 minutes of ingesting the drug, Valerie’s heart had started beating wildly and she fainted three times. Her friend had become violently ill. Both had to have their stomachs pumped at a hospital. “They told us we almost died,” she said.
Does this scenario constitute the bounds of acceptable safety to which Kessler was referring? Two teenagers almost died from taking this “safe” drug. Is that acceptable?
True, most Lollapalooza concertgoers took more pills than are probably within the acceptable dosage, but vendors instructed them to do so. Even though the drug is technically legal, it is inexcusable to instruct people to take more than the suggested five pills.
Anything that can produce such drastic affects, regardless of the fact that the dose was high, has to be dangerous. What effect will small doses of the drug, taken over a long period of time, have on a person?
I still cannot believe that Herbal Ecstasy is being advertised on radio and television and in magazines, and is being sold through mail-order. Anyone, even a child, can, and does have access to this drug. Even though the FDA has not found sufficient information to make the drug illegal, it is obviously dangerous.
