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| Herbal Mixtures Classed as Drugs |
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Posted by FoM on June 19, 2001 at 11:21:21 PT By Gail Gibson, Sun Staff Source: Baltimore Sun 
The herbal mixtures came with names like Liquid X, Schroomz and Herbal Opium, and with some heady promises: "Full of shroomy goodness," one label said. "Intensify your smoking adventures," said another. Despite the illicit-sounding names and claims, Hit Products Inc. of Riverdale in Prince George's County said its products were "dietary supplements" and not subject to government regulation. But a federal judge blocked their sale last week after determining that the herbal products should be considered unapproved new drugs, designed to mimic the effects of marijuana or Ecstasy and marketed to party-minded young adults. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. said that labeling the products as dietary supplements "constitutes a veiled attempt to circumvent federal anti-drug laws." "This court," Williams wrote in his June 12 ruling, "declines to carve out a statutory loophole for drug manufacturers attempting to profit from the illegal drug epidemic by masquerading potentially dangerous substances as legitimate dietary supplements." The case was the latest in a government effort to crack down on street drug alternatives -- typically botanical mixtures that are promoted as inducing the same kind of high as illegal drugs. Such products increasingly are marketed as dietary supplements, according to officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The distinction is an important one, because a 1994 law largely exempted dietary supplements from the same scrutiny that is applied to pharmaceutical drugs. However, an FDA spokeswoman said, the label does not fit on products marketed as feel-good party drugs. "It doesn't matter what you call it, if it reacts in your body as a drug, then it's an unapproved new drug," said spokeswoman Laura Bradbard. Agrees with Justice: In the case against Hit Products, Williams agreed with Justice Department lawyers who argued that the company's products should be considered drugs -- not dietary supplements -- because they are intended to affect the function or structure of the mind. The judge said the company's advertising promoted that effect. An advertisement for a product called "Inda-Kind" included a testimonial that Inda-Kind "did the trick, we're all stoked." Hit Products, which also does business as Riverdale Organics and Dreamworlds, sold the products through magazine advertisements and over the Internet. Company's Argument: The company argued that its products were made entirely of legal herbs and that it had a First Amendment right to make various marketing claims. Company President Perry L. Hitt, a Florida resident, and attorney Charles H. Nalls of Washington did not return phone calls seeking comment. In his ruling, Williams held that the government acted properly last year when it seized the company's stock, and he ordered all of the products destroyed. He also blocked the company from selling any other such product without it undergoing FDA scrutiny as a new drug. Note: Judge blocks sales, orders stock destroyed. Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) CannabisNews Articles - Herbs Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #21 posted by zube on March 20, 2002 at 19:01:49 PT |
| Has anyone used the product "herbal opium"? Its ingredient list says that it has letuce opium, California poppy etc. Does it really work, (do anything)? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #20 posted by FoM on August 08, 2001 at 08:57:44 PT |
| I've taken Valarian Root every night since 94 and I sleep very well and still dream. I never slept well before. When I took legal prescriptipn sleep aids I stopped having dreams. I don't know why but it's much better then the legal drugs that I use to take. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #19 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on August 08, 2001 at 08:18:39 PT:
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| The stuff is legal and should be. It is a reasonably safe sedative and sleeper for some people, whose action is best after a period of 2-4 weeks of nightly usage. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #18 posted by Raviniere on August 08, 2001 at 08:03:13 PT:
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| I have been studying herbs for over 20 years now, and have found some of them when used (like anything else) in moderation to be much better than prescription drugs. Recently, a friend of mine told me that after having had valarien root at my house she proceded to purchase it at a health food store nearby and was followed around by some pharmacutical nut, to make sure she didn't get any! What's with that? Is there some legal or underground upheaval going on with regards to Valarien root now? I couldn't believe I was hearing this. Comments anyone? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #17 posted by kaptinemo on June 20, 2001 at 05:51:11 PT:
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| The USG hires people not so much for their brilliance, wit, tenacity, work ethics and genuine desire to serve their nation...but on whether their piss is free from tell-tale metabolites. Which leaves the Feds with what one TV 'talking head' once referred to as "The best of the rest." Is it any wonder then why we get such examples of ossified cerebral cortexes being put in positions where insight and mental acuity is so desperately needed? If we are supposed to be getting what we pay for, I'd like a refund, please. I'm just not impressed with the quality of the 'goods and services' being offered. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #16 posted by lookinside on June 19, 2001 at 19:25:10 PT:
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| how 'bout a cannabisnews cruise? get a boat registered and stocked in holland, hit a few sacred ports around the world..(does nepal have a coastline?) well, acapulco does...as does morocco and B.C....just dreaming, but if i hit the lotto($82mill tomorrow night), it might be fun... on subject: hopefully the guvmint keeps shooting themselves [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by freedom fighter on June 19, 2001 at 16:43:15 PT |
| Are the government crazy enuff to start killing every living plants on earth?? I am afraid that is so.. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #14 posted by QuietCrusader on June 19, 2001 at 15:00:57 PT:
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| Get a laptop and take us on vacation with you, Kap. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #13 posted by Occasional Pot User on June 19, 2001 at 14:56:35 PT:
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| I tried this crap that my dad got from the back of High Times. It came with some chocolate thai oil that youre supposed to add to the herbs. Took several big tokes out of my bong, and I didn't get high. It's a joke if you ask me. I don't even know why idiots buy this crap. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by Monvor on June 19, 2001 at 14:38:43 PT |
| "because they are intended to affect the function or structure of the mind" This is thought crime legislation. If you think about getting high, then you are a criminal. Here comes the chopper, to chop off your head. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by dddd on June 19, 2001 at 14:25:45 PT |
| ....that wasnt a nose!.. I hope you're right Kap,,,that camels ass [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #10 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on June 19, 2001 at 14:20:44 PT:
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| Your comments point out why we missed you on your vacation. Basically, these bureaucratic decisions are made without any thought to their implications and ramifications. I hereby volunteer to spend a lot of time in court defending the proposition that the administration of psychoactive plants for medicine or pleasure is as old as (wo)man her/himself, and is an inherent right that must be protected. It is what Jefferson and his contemporaries would demand, and we must settle for no less. Am I advocating the idea that everyone must take these herbs? Not at all, and why would I? Rather, we must have the right to choose our teas, raise our herbs of choice, and even vaporize them from time to time when the need arises. It is the true natural order. The way the Feds would have it, incense should be banned from churches and temples because it is evocative of heavenly aspirations. That arbitrary can of worms is open now due to such poorly conceived unilateral broadsides. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #9 posted by kaptinemo on June 19, 2001 at 14:12:50 PT:
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| His arse is already in the tent. If this weren't so bloody dangerous, I'd laugh. The antis are always caterwaulling about the 'the slippery slope' of 'legalization'. They get positively hysterical about the idea. But what the idiots don't seem to realize is that it was from their camp that the grease was poured down the hill. This is just the latest example of 'activist judges' writing law when they are only supposed to be interpreting it...in the strictest way possible. It is a pattern that reaches back to the earliest years of the last century: the Harrison Narcotics Act. Using tortuous and fatuous logic, and twisting the Commerce Clause of the Constitution to do something unConstitutional. But why is it worthy of laughter? This fake dope has been around for years, suckering people looking for a legal alternative to the 'real thing'. The purveyors of this scheisse have always skirted the legal issues with their caveats about being 'food'. But now a judge is implying intent of criminal activity. Criminal activity revolving around altering one's consciousness. Which is in essence what anyone who swallows an alcoholic beverage does. This judge has unknowingly stepped into legal quicksand. I hope the fool thrashes around an bit and sinks lower before someone with the wherewithal takes him on. Because, he has just stated that any substance which alters brain functioning - like a beer - is indeed a 'drug' And 'FDA-unapproved' drugs - such as every alcoholic beverage in existence - are therefore illegal. Needless to say, with your brain constantly manufacturing endogenous opioids and anandamides, he'd have to lock up every living soul...including his benighted self. This may finally force the issue out into the open: alcohol=drug in every place but the American public's mind. Which simply can't stand the idea that they are drug users. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #8 posted by Seatripper on June 19, 2001 at 14:12:08 PT:
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| Big herbal companies like Metabolife won't stand for such an uncontitutional and arbitrary ruling. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 19, 2001 at 12:39:50 PT |
| Maybe they should just asphalt over the whole earth. Feed us all soylent green. Creepy. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by TroutMask on June 19, 2001 at 12:34:44 PT |
| How about currently legal, potentially deadly but entheogenic mushrooms that are rapidly growing in popularity (e.g., the Aminita species)? What about other plants, some of them dangerous but entheogenic and currently legal (e.g., belladonna, datura, Salvia)? Gee, we've got all kinds of plants to make illegal! And talk about an eradication task! [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 19, 2001 at 12:28:01 PT |
| Soon will they fly over to look and see a person is growing St. John's Wort? Will they go after Wild American Ginseng? These natural herbs have mood altering properties. How about Valarian Root? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by dddd on June 19, 2001 at 12:19:30 PT |
| Welcome to the next phase of government intrusion... This will spread like wildfire,,,within the next year,we d dd ...d [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by Cuzn Buzz on June 19, 2001 at 12:06:02 PT |
| Are all these anti-freedom prohibitches really idiots or do they just play them on TV? Wonder how many years they'll lock me up for putting the DRUG garlic in my spagetti sauce? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on June 19, 2001 at 12:02:22 PT:
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| Isn't it quite apparent after reading this what arbitrary distinctions are brought into play with this decision? Where should the line be drawn? Should it? Most herbal manufacturers manage their advertising by including a statement to the effect that, "The above claim is not endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration." The FDA does not like hyperbolic claims, and this may have spurred their intervention. Some interesting legal fodder will result if the manufacturers have the resources to pursue the cases. However, the government can outwait just about anyone. Just check the history or suits by NORML, Jon Gettman et al. in attempting to reschedule cannabis. It takes judges of unusual foresight, honesty and integrity to ignore the accumulated detritus of a century of the War on Drugs, and rectify this disaster. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by Sudaca on June 19, 2001 at 11:43:22 PT |
| "It doesn't matter what you call it, if it reacts in your body as a drug, then it's an unapproved new drug," said spokeswoman Laura Bradbard. You better stock up in sugar and caffeine! Theobromine is next wake up Hersheys! A brave new world maket for morning glories, lettuce opium, nutmeg and parsley! No more mint tea, nor St. Johns Wort for all that matters. I wonder if the FDA went public how much would its stock sell for. That and the DEA's... [ Post Comment ] |
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