Ephedra a.k.a. ma huang contains ephedrine alkaloids in it. Ephedrine is pure ephedrine, without the other shit(psuedofed,etc.) in ma huang. Using Pure Ephedrine is known to be a safer approach to the EC stack, since the ephedrine dosage is known. When people use Ephedra, the dosages of ephedrine may vary batch to batch. The ephedrine inconsistency accompanied via ephedra increases the potential for negative side effects.