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28 Cap. U. L. Rev. 617 (1999-2000)
Mark McGwire Does It, So Why Can't I - High School Student Use of Dietary Supplements and the Failure of DSHEA

handle is hein.journals/capulr28 and id is 627 raw text is: MARK MCGWIRE DOES IT, SO WHY CAN'T I? HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT USE OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS AND THE FAILURE OF DSHEA I. INTRODUCTION Rosanna Porras' family was in extreme grief and shock when they learned of her sudden death.1 They need to make sure what they're selling is safe. If we could get them to that point, then my daughter's death, I think I could live with the pain, he said as he wept.2 This was the reaction of Rosanna's father after burying his high-school-aged daughter and learning that a dietary supplement may have been responsible for her death.3 Rosanna was fifteen years old when she collapsed on the practice field among her fellow high school soccer teammates.4 She was a popular class president and an outstanding student, so it came as a shock to her family, teammates, coaches, and classmates when she suddenly collapsed on the practice field and was pronounced dead of heart failure at the hospital three days later.5 After the doctor pumped the remaining contents from Rosanna's stomach, it was discovered that she had been consuming a dietary supplement called Ripped Fuel, manufactured and distributed by supplement giant Twinlab and easily available to Rosanna and her teammates.6 The active ingredient in Ripped Fuel is ephedrine, which many consider to be the legal equivalent to the illicit methamphetamine, the substance commonly mixed and sold with cocaine on the streets.7 While autopsy tests revealed no conclusive evidence that the supplement caused Rosanna's untimely and tragic death,8 suspicion that the supplement may have at least contributed to her death was strong enough to garner the attention of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).9 Copyright © 2000, Jeffrey A. Crossman. I See Steve Chawkins & Dawn Hobbs, Death of 15-Year-Old Fuels Concern Over 'Energy Pills' Health: Food Supplement is Not Regulated as a Drug Despite its Chemical Similarity to Methamphetamine, L.A. TiMEs, Apr. 16, 1998, at A3. 2 Id. 3 See id. 4 See id. 5 See id. 6 See id. 7 See id. 8 See Dawn Hobbs & Steve Chawkins, Natural Causes Ruled Out in Death of Fillmore Girl Inquiry: Coroner Says Heart Damage Apparently Occurred Days Before Her Collapse, Firm Says Herbal Item Isn't at Fault, L.A. TMES, Apr. 18, 1998, at A 19. 9 See Chawkins & Hobbs, supra note 1.

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