WHO ephedrine scheduling
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs votes at March 16 meeting in Vienna to return the World Health Organization's recommendation to reschedule ephedrine to WHO for further consideration. WHO had proposed that L-ephedrine be scheduled under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Drugs. The commission concludes the reconsideration is necessary in light of numerous objections to the proposal. At the meeting, U.S. representative Adrienne Stephan opposes the proposal on the basis that WHO's evidence of ephedrine abuse levels do not indicate the level of abuse required under the 1971 convention and that ephedrine already is controlled under the 1988 convention. Objections to the proposal by representatives of the OTC drug and dietary supplements industries were aired at a Feb. 19 FDA public meeting in Rockville, Md. ("The Tan Sheet" Feb. 22, pp. 6-7)