The New Weed

摘要

By now, nearly everyone has heard of the latest in recreational drugs-a legal, alternative high promised from an herb marketed under names such as Herbal Ecstacy, Cloud 9, and Ultimate Xphoria. But for centuries the herb, called ephedra or ma huang, has had a nobler purpose: It is used by Chinese doctors—and adopted by U.S. medicine as well—to treat upper-respiratory ailments such as bronchitis.