Ephedra FDA Ban...The Saga Continues

I have a couple questions:

First, if Brigham Tea is growing naturally all over Utah and the SW (drive along any rural road in southern Utah and I can probably find it within 15 minutes), why is EMAX, Neurtraceutical, or anyone else, all bitter about not being able to ship ephedra in by the ton from China to SLC and Denver?

Second, probably unrelated question. Is there a bigger picture to the trafficking and marketing of bulk Chinese-refined ephedra that's being overlooked here?

See:
K. M. Andrews. Ephedra's Role As a Precursor in the Clandestine Manufacture of Methamphetamine. Journal of Forensic Sciences 40(4), 551-560 (1995)
"Conclusion"Discussed issues concerning accessibility, chemical regulation, and profitability support the theory that ephedra is a feasible and practical material for synthesizing methamphetamine. Therefore, it has the potential for replacing synthetic preparations of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine as a major precursor material for illicit methamphetamine manufacturing. Three "marker compounds" differentiating material synthesized from ephedra versus synthetic ephedrine have been discussed."

dras