Ephedrine is approved by the FDA as a drug for human consumption, but because it is a precursor for several scheduled drugs (methamphetamine & methcathinone), it is highly regulated. Possession of ephedrine is legal, but sales of large quantities are monitored and many states heavily regulate the forms and methods in which it is sold.

The FDA banned the sale of ephedrine in over-the-counter dietary supplements in early 2004. See FDA's February 2004 Announcement. Although the ban was temporarily in question when a federal judge ruled it invalid, the US Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of the FDA; as of August 2006, a ban is in place on the sale of any product containing ephedra-alkaloids and ephedrine that has not been specifically approved by the FDA.

As of 2006, retailers in the United States are required to collect the signatures of every person purchasing pseudoephedrine-containing products in log books and view a photo ID for every purchase of any product for which the entire box contains more than 60 mg of pseudoephedrine. The "Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005" provides for criminal penalties for non compliance and limits the maximum amount an individual can buy to 9 grams of pseudoephedrine per any 30 day period:

This makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally purchase at retail more than 9 grams during a 30 day period (of which no more than 7.5 grams can be imported by private or commercial carrier or the Postal Service). -- CME 2005

In 2010, a new "Combat Methamphetamine Enhancement Act" was passed that the DEA has told mail order retailers now requires them to only ship to the address on the Driver's License of the person ordering the product. However, we've not been able to find that requirement in the law or regulations. See FDA Law Blog: New Combat Meth Act Increases Retailer Self Certification (Nov 2010). Mail order companies are interpreting the rule, perhaps directed to do so by the DEA, that they may only ship ephedrine to the address listed on the driver's license. The DEA's briefing states: "Prior to shipping the product, you must also determine that the name and address on the identification correspond to the name and address provided by the purchaser as part of the sales transaction." Unfortunately, that sentence is ambiguous. It is possible to read that as a requirement for positive identification of the buyer, but can also be read as requiring the product be shipped to the address on the ID, which is the interpretation of the main vendors.

In addition to monthly maximum purchase quotas per individual, US federal law disallows selling more than 3.6 grams total ephedrine/pseudoephedrine to a person in a single day. In some states, it is illegal to /buy/ as the consumer more than that amount. Some localities call law enforcement if someone attempts to buy more than this amount. There are instances where buying two small boxes of Sudafed 24-hour resulted in arrest and prosecution. Sudafed 24 hour time release contain 240mg per tablet with 10 tablets per box, thus 2.4grams of pseudoephedrine per box. Two boxes exceeds the 3.6 gram per day limit.

These statutory requirements include the following: (1) the retailer must adhere to specific daily purchaser limits on retail sales (i.e., a regulated retailer may not sell to any purchaser amounts that exceed a daily amount of 3.6 grams of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine) regardless of the number of transactions; (2) the retailer may not sell the non-liquid form of the product unless the product is packaged in a blister pack; and, (3) the retailer must submit regular reports of sales activity to the government.

• DEA Page on 'Combat Methamphetamine act of 2005
• FDA's Statement about Tenth Circuit Ruling, Aug 21 2006
• Stephen Barrett's summary of this ruling
• Federal Judge Strikes Down Ephedra Ban, Apr 14 2005, AP
• FDA Announces Plan to Prohibit Ephedra Supplements, Dec 30 2003
• DEA's Mail Order Vendor Briefing 2010

Possession of ephedrine and ephedra products remains legal, with the caveat described above that buying too much in a short period can result in criminal penalties.