Folklore Knows: Sassafras Gives. Government takes away.

Rural people and others with access to herbs are going to use them according to the traditional way or as "advertised." See continuing uses of traditional medicines, and some hazards at www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00036587. The sensible and common good solution, even if not equally Pharma-financially profitable, is research and education as to dosages and preparations, not ban.

Sassafras: edible delectable for some, including us with info

Our government gives mixed messages. The sassafras is desirable for wildlife and should be fostered, See species-specific management at fwie.fw.vt.edu/rhgiles/SpeciesSSM/Crows. Scroll down to the "increasing a population (birds)" section, but don't dare use that tree for something useful.

We are still waiting for a correlation between humans getting cancer and the sassafras. See the National Occupational Survey at www.cdc.gov.mill1.sjlibrary.org/noes/noes4/siocsyns.that shows how many occupational workers are exposed to "chemical agents" annually. For sassafras-related workers, the total is 1680 or so -- with no indication if there is any disease correlation at all.