Section 391-O. Sale or promotional distribution of dietary supplements containing ephedra

1.  No  person,  firm,  corporation,  partnership,
  association,  limited  liability  company, or other entity shall sell or
  offer to sell or give away, as either a retail or wholesale promotion, a
  dietary supplement containing any quantity of ephedra  within  New  York
  state, except as authorized by subdivision three of this section.
    2.  For  purposes  of  this  section,  the  following  terms  have the
  following meanings:
    (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".
    4.  Any  person,  firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
  liability company, or other entity that violates the provisions of  this
  section  by selling, offering to sell, or giving away as either a retail
  or wholesale promotion, a dietary supplement containing any quantity  of
  ephedrine alkaloids shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than
  five  hundred  dollars  per  violation,  recoverable in an action by any
  enforcement  authority  designated  by  any  municipality  or  political
  subdivision.
    5.  It  shall  be  a  defense  that  any  person,  firm,  corporation,
  partnership, association, limited liability  company,  or  other  entity
  that  sold,  offered  for  sale,  or  gave  away  as  either a retail or
  wholesale promotion a dietary supplement, did not  have  knowledge  that
  the  supplement  contained  any quantity of ephedrine alkaloids, if such
  knowledge was not reasonably discoverable.