New York Consolidated Laws, General Business Law - GBS § 831. Sale or promotional distribution of dietary supplements containing ephedra

(a) “dietary supplement” means (1) a product (other than tobacco) that is intended to supplement the diet and that bears or contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients:  a vitamin, a mineral, an herb or other botanical, an amino acid, a dietary substance for the use by a person to supplement the diet by increasing the total daily intake, or a concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combinations of these ingredients;  (2) intended for ingestion in pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid form;  and (3) labeled as a “dietary supplement” pursuant to the federal Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, 21 U.S.C. 321, as amended.

(b) “ephedra” means any natural or synthetic form of ephedrine and ephedrine alkaloids.

3. (a) Nothing in this section shall apply to nonprescription over-the-counter drugs approved or regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

(b) This section shall not apply to ma huang (ephedra sinica) sold or dispensed by any practitioner of oriental medicine, whose qualification to use ma huang and other herbs is explicitly established via evidence of an active certification issued to such individual from an entity accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and who is not otherwise required to be licensed by the state of New York, or any physician or any practitioner of acupuncture licensed by the state of New York as long as it is not sold or dispensed as a dietary supplement for weight loss, for body building, or as an “energy food”.