The lack of social awareness about ephedrine means that it isn’t something commonly seen in pop culture or in the media. Of course, the drug enjoys greater familiarity among the social circles that use it. We’ll discuss off-label use (and abuse) in more detail shortly, but for now suffice it to say that the two groups most likely to use ephedrine outside of its medical purposes are weight lifters and bodybuilders, because of the drug’s advertised potential to enhance sports performance and help users lose weight. After the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, for example, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) noted the use of performance-enhancing drugs containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which led to heavier regulation in future competitions.
Ephedrine is also known in some circles for its use as a precursor in the production of methamphetamine, like its relative, pseudoephedrine (also known by its street name “pseudo”). (Unlike “pseudo,” ephedrine doesn’t bear any street slang names.)