Will Homeopathy Become Illegal?

The question on everyone's mind:  will homeopathy become illegal?

Soon I'll be sharing the reasons why I've become even more of a fan of homeopathy in the past year or so.  Lately things have been ramping up regarding our access to natural, homeopathic remedies.  I could tell by what was coming through my email and what I was seeing on social media that everyone was starting to really freak out about the changes the FDA was making in regards to homeopathy.

This scary question is on everyone's mind:  will homeopathy become illegal?  Will we lose our freedom to treat ourselves and our families as we wish?!  

So when I was in California last weekend at the Shiftcon Conference and walking through the expo hall, I saw the folks from Boiron and thought, “I'll ask them, they'll know the real scoop!”  I was grateful that Alissa agreed to chat with me on camera, which you can watch in this video, but be sure and read the rest of the story below…

Watch the video here, it'll play after the ad:

“There we go,” I thought, “No real need to worry, this has all been blown out of proportion!”  BUT THEN… 

I put the video on my Facebook page (be sure to check out the conversation at that link) and some of you guys, my super smart reader friends, warned me that it's not quite that simple.

So I contacted two experts to get their side.  I'm thankful for Alissa's view, but really really like to try and get all sides of an issue so I can keep you well-informed…

First, I was put in touch with Paola Brown, from Americans for Homeopathy Choice.  

To start, here's Paola's recent interview about the topic, which starts at about minute 3:00, and in her words, this is a “mother's perspective”…

You'll want to listen because she gives a great overview explaining what homeopathy IS, how important and relied upon it is in other parts of the world, how she got into homeopathy, what's going on recently with the FDA and how they are clearly prejudiced against homeopathy (more details on that below), and how we can protect our right to access it in the future.

*She also clarifies that the FDA is technically not taking homeopathic remedies from us, but they are “trying to position themselves in a way that could most definitely have repercussions on our freedom to use homeopathy in the future.”

Here are more details in a statement she shared with me:

Americans for Homeopathy Choice is very concerned about this situation with the FDA.

Specifically, we take issue with the FDA's intent to completely withdraw the Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) 400.400, a document which has for over 30 years guided the safe manufacturing and marketing of homeopathic products. If this document is withdrawn–as the FDA says it will do–then the homeopathic industry no longer has a clear set of guidelines for the manufacturing of safe, standardized homeopathic products.

By withdrawing this CPG, the FDA is putting the homeopathic industry in the dark, and any action from the FDA would then be arbitrary and confusing to the industry. Without the clear set of guidances from the CPG 400.400, the industry needs to react to the whims of the FDA, and then they indeed can enforce regulations which injure the homeopathic industry.  We also feel that the FDA's actions on homeopathy can and will set precedence within all of natural health.

PLEASE take action now!

Visit HomeopathyChoice.org to use our form letter (it's all very clear and simple once you click over) to write to the President of the United States.  Then go on to the next step to use our letter and contact your local congressmen and senators.

If there ever was a time for you to rise up and find your voice to defend natural medicine, NOW IS THAT TIME!  Find your power and defend our freedom to use homeopathy as our choice in affordable health care.

Here's their video on this issue:

Next I asked one of my very favorite homeopaths, Joette Calabrese and here's what she said:

It’s still unclear what the FDA’s full intent is in the short run. I do however always worry about their intent in the long run.

This is why it is uber important that we purchase our medicines from American homeopathic pharmacies such as Boiron, OHM, Hyland's, Washington(<– that's my fav), Hahnemann.

Now, more than ever our American pharmacies need our support, both financial and otherwise. Please don’t buy from Indian or other pharmacies to save a buck. Not only are you not assured of the quality that foreign companies provide, but you may find you’ll not have any American homeopathic pharmacies left in the future if they get hit from all sides…the FDA and foreign competition.  The future of our families and our country is what this is all about.

So this begs the question “Should I stock up?”  A resounding YES!!

You should always stock up. And purchase combination remedies from our American companies as quickly and fully as you can afford. Buy for the future, for your in-laws, your neighbors, and pets, but buy American.

What to do:  

Again, go to this page and follow the simple instructions there.

This is Kelly again with a note about stocking up:

Remember that homeopathic remedies don't expire!  I suggest starting with a homeopathy kit like this one so you have a variety of different remedies on hand when you need them.  Or here's a travel kit for your car.  My friend with young kids loves this homeopathy kids' kit:

A clear picture of the FDA's prejudice against homeopathy from Paola:

I did a comparative analysis on 5 FDA press releases for the Tamiflu – the drug used for flu-like symptoms (they are linked here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and I compared those 5 to the ONE FDA press release that announced their draft guidance for homeopathy.

• Let's understand Tamiflu first:
  • The Cochran review says that Tamiflu only helps reduce flu symptoms from 7 days to 6.3 — but never once do they mention in five press releases that they QUOTE “need to protect the public from products that have little to no benefit” as they said about homeopathy in the draft guidance.
  • The National Center for Health Research says Tamiflu has side effects like self-injury and hallucination. 
  • And that there have been multiple suicide-related deaths–especially in children and adolescents.  However, in the 5 press releases I analyzed, the word ‘death' is never used once and the side effects are minimized!

• OK, let's compare this to homeopathy–just 1 press release :
  • They use the word death—which is strange, because in over 200 years of homeopathy, there have been no deaths caused by homeopathic products which were prepared under the rules of the HPUS.  Homeopathy is inherently safe and non-toxic.
  • The FDA uses the word ‘potential' 12 times in the press release.  And they have to use the word potential, because homeopathy is actually safe and absolutely non-toxic!  They use the word potential because they don't have any proof that it's dangerous. So they maximize the potential danger–which they didn't do for the Tamiflu which has in fact caused multiple documented deaths with demonstrated material side effects.
  • Similarly, they use the word risk over 17 times, again to help maximize the false sense of danger and fear. 
  • Then the FDA says in that one homeopathy press release, that they need to protect vulnerable populations from homeopathy–even though homeopathy is so non-toxic that it is not even administered based on the weight of the individual.  And don't forget the Tamiflu suicides are occurring mostly with children and adolescents, but they're not worried about those vulnerable populations. They’re worried about the kids who are using non-toxic homeopathy!
  • Finally, in that press release, the FDA Compares a homeopathic medicine–which by their definition is completely non-toxic–to Rat poison!  The very medicine they have regulated and ensured to be a safe and non-toxic product is now somehow rat poison?
  • So there is absolutely prejudice and this prejudice has been picked up by the mainstream media and they ran with it. We are seeing articles like “FDA cracks down on homeopathy.” –from NPR, CBS news, fortune magazine, and even if they look further down on that search, you will see NBC news saying ‘FDA cracks down on snake oil homeopathy’.  The FDA is launching a smear campaign.

Thank you Paola and Joette for giving us your views and more information.  I hope you'll all TAKE ACTION to protect our right to help our families naturally and in the way we choose!

*Please share this with your friends who also wonder: will homeopathy become illegal??

More you might like:

• Learn more about homeopathy from one of Joette's courses here.

• More on the basics from Joanie:  Homeopathy Medicine Online Guide (Effective Must-Haves for Your Glove Box and First Aid Kit)

• Joette weighs in:  Are bioidentical hormones safe or natural?

• Are you a freaked out parent or a confident parent?

• Another from Joette on integrating essential oils WITH homeopathy and also help with natural earache remedies.