What we heard from you about proposed homeopathy legislation

Today’s Report:

What we heard from you about proposed homeopathy legislation:

A few readers of January’s Homeopathy Insider responded to our plan to move forward with legislation. One sent a lengthy and impassioned plea of support for our efforts. She noted the dangers inherent in pharmaceuticals and the most recent horror stories in the news. And she was thankful for what homeopathy has done for her and her family.

Others shared concerns about whether or not we could get Congress to do the right thing, and even if we succeeded at that, could we trust the FDA to do what Congress tells it to?

Those are legitimate concerns, which is why we are moving forward with experts who know what they are doing in Washington, D.C. Two we mentioned in last month’s Insider are Betsy Lehrheld, a food and drug lawyer with 40 years of experience, and AFHC’s legal adviser, and Todd Harrison, a longtime food and drug lawyer with a top Washington law firm who has been representing homeopathic and natural health clients successfully for many years.

We are encouraged that the dietary supplement industry has not just survived, but thrived in the 30 years since the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) was passed. That has happened in no small part because of the constant vigilance of the natural health community. That community has repeatedly batted back attempts to get Congress and the FDA to roll back our right to choose the supplements that work best for us.

There is something to learn from our friends in the supplement industry. We seek to create a structure that takes into account the unique nature of homeopathic medicines, and we are crafting a bill that will give the FDA very specific instructions about how to regulate homeopathic products in a way that is appropriate for these unique medicines. If we succeed at getting a bill passed that does this, we could protect homeopathy for generations.

And that’s why it is worth trying. If we simply leave things as they are, the FDA will likely do just what it promised to do and has already begun doing. That is, the FDA will go down the list of categories of homeopathic medicines in its Guidance document and remove the products in those categories from the market. If the past is prologue, it means the FDA will do this without citing a single adverse reaction report or injury to anyone. As you know, now that the FDA has designated all homeopathic medicines as “unapproved new drugs,” it doesn’t need any reason to take them off the market.

It’s worth revisiting two categories that the FDA has in its sights. First, there are products with “[m]ultiple ingredients that, when used in combination, could result in possible interactions, synergistic effects, or additive effects of the various ingredients.” The FDA is talking about combination homeopathic products, of course. How many of you rely on those to treat minor illnesses like coughs, colds, earache, cramps, and headaches? Some of your favorites could disappear and never return.

A second category is those with “[i]ngredients that pose a risk of toxic, or other adverse effects.” Well, most of you would not be able to imagine homeopathy without Aconitum napellus, Arsenicum album, Belladonna, Gelsemium, Lachesis mutus, and Nux vomica, all of them made from toxic materials that are ultra diluted far beyond any possible toxicity. Where did I get the list? From FDA warning letters to manufacturers. The agency has targets in mind. Even Arnica is considered moderately toxic when taken in undiluted form.

Whether these medicines stay or go will be up to the whims of the FDA, an agency that changes with every shift of administration. That’s why we need to create a clear, consistent, and stable legal framework for homeopathy so it won’t matter who’s in charge of the FDA.

What we propose to do is difficult, but not impossible. We have highly experienced guides to help and a motivated and talented Homeopathy Action Team to keep the pressure on Congress to act for the good of their constituents.

We look forward to working with all of you to pass a bill that will truly safeguard the full range of homeopathic medicines that we have all come to rely on.