Death of Ohio teen impels legislation.

He wanted to be bigger, stronger, faster and better than anyone else on the prep gridiron. Instead, 17-year-old Carl Richardson of Plain City, Ohio, died.

After a knee injury failed to heal as quickly as the inside linebacker thought it should, he turned to a high school classmate who provided him with "Pep-Tabs" at a cost of $5 for a hundred tablets. The pills were perfectly legal, available in health food and convenience stores, truck stops, gas stations, and through mail-order advertisements in body-building magazines. The ephedrine pills were advertised as increasing strength and stamina.

After the boy's death, his parents turned to Senator Merle Grace Kearns, asking her to help sponsor legislation that would prevent similar tragedy from striking other families.

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved over-the-counter sale of ephedrine as an asthma and bronchitis treatment in 1988. There are, in fact, 148 products containing ephedrine that have been approved by the FDA for over-the-counter sales.

A stimulant and appetite suppressant, ephedrine products are now being sold as muscle enhancement, diet and pep pills under such names as Pep Tabs, Thermo T, Thermogenic Enhancer, ThermaLoss or "white crosses" consumed by truckers to stay alert. Its herbal form is known as ma huang, ephedra or "the American desert herb."

But ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine (a derivative of ephedrine) were implicated by medical examiners in the overdose deaths of 184 people between 1988 and 1992, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The drugs also were involved in 14,825 drug-abuse-related episodes in hospital emergency rooms during the same four years.

One of the problems with the drug, usually marketed in 25- to 50-milligram doses, is that it builds up in the body over time. When the Ohio teen died, his body contained 1,100 milligrams of ephedrine.

Kearns' amendment listing ephedrine as a Schedule V controlled substance was unanimously approved as an emergency measure by the Ohio Senate in June 1994 and became Ohio law in July. Products containing ephedrine can be sold only by a registered pharmacist to patients 18 years of age or older. The law exempts asthma-relief products such as Primatene and Bronkaid as well as cold and hay fever medications that contain pseudo-ephedrine.

The law affects about 174 products although "there may be 500 or more over-the-counter products containing ephedrine or pseudo-ephedrine in the marketplace," according to the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy.

In an attempt to deal with mail-order firms offering ephedrine in diet, pep and muscle-building pills, the law also requires licensing of companies that sell ephedrine products.

"By making ephedrine a Schedule V drug, Ohio has said that, despite FDA approval, it is a dangerous drug and should be regulated more strictly by the state," Kearns said.

During hearings on the amendment, drug manufacturers challenged state restrictions on ephedrine as violations of the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. They also argued the drug could be safely sold over the counter.

Fourteen states restrict the sale of ephedrine products. Florida has the most stringent regulations, confining purchases of all ephedrine products to prescription-only. Michigan and New Jersey limit the amount that can be purchased without a prescription, while in states such as Missouri, New Mexico and North Dakota, products containing ephedrine as their single ingredient are available only through a prescription. Products that contain ephedrine in combination with other drugs can still be purchased over the counter.

The FDA is currently reviewing the over-the-counter status of ephedrine. And the Drug Enforcement Administration issued new regulations in November 1994 that require specific record-keeping on and reporting of ephedrine sales. Over-the-counter ephedrine is used as a base chemical for the manufacture of the illegal street drug "speed" (methamphetamine).