A well-researched and informative post.
Overharvested due to a reputation for beating drug tests - does this mean that individual drug users are traipsing through the woods looking to make some powder, or is it companies looking to sell to the drug users?
Also, you mention that it has that reputation, but you don't weigh in on its actual effectiveness in that regard. Any definitive proof on that? I'm asking for a friend!
haha i think people have overharvested it from the wild in an effort to sell based on the purported drug test benefits. i think mainly people read the misinformation online and buy from the many online retailers available.
as for it's uses, i have personally used it to great affect for the above-mentioned mucous relief in later stage of a cold and also as an immune booster and digestive tonic. i can speak to all of those benefits! we've also used it with great success to aid in relieving painful poison ivy rash (used as a topical wash in this instance). I can't speak to any of the other claims, but I have researched this medicine extensively and trust many of the herbal sources i've read. A lot of this information is from Paul Bergner's Healing Power of Echinacea and Goldenseal. Hope this helps!
Oh and I just reread your comment- per reputation and effects are you referring to use as a drug masker in testing-- haha i just gave you another plant profile! It is ineffective in terms of masking drug tests (for a friend ;) lol!)