Last night I had a dream that two government agents came to my home to investigate a call they had gotten saying that I was in possession of at least one bottle of vitamin B3 (niacin). You know, usually you can wake up from a nightmare and breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Oh, it was just a dream!" However I was waking up on April 15, 2007 and the fact is that the FDA is trying once again to legislate vitamins, supplements, herbs and even raw vegetable juices as "drugs."

Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me – except when it comes to the legal meanings behind all this, which is that it would force Americans to have to get a doctor's prescription for anything but the lowest dosage vitamins, herbs and supplements. In a best case scenario where we could all even afford to go to doctors for prescriptions for all our natural health needs, the fact is that most of the doctors who would be allowed to write such prescriptions are really not well educated about natural alternative supplements. The fact is, medical school has taught 95% of our doctors how to treat disease, but not how to prevent it – and especially not how to prevent it naturally.

A growing number of Americans are choosing to take measures to take responsibility for their own health – from the water they drink to eating more fruits and vegetables to taking supplements, herbs and juices and eating organic produce. Under this proposed regulation much of that will no longer be a right of the consumer.

The FDA is accepting public comments on the docket until April 30th. They tried to sneak this under the radar, but word got out and now the natural health community is up in arms over this rule. If you wish to protect your access to nutritional supplements, herbs, essential oils, homeopathic medicine or any other "complementary" or "alternative" modality, it is crucial that you take action to post your comments with the FDA right now and write your representatives in Washington to put a stop to this outrageous effort to destroy natural medicine. (And be sure to really write them. Just sending an email has virtually no impact compared to writing a physical letter in your own words.)

According to Mike Adams, author of Natural Health Solutions and the Conspiracy to Keep You From Knowing About Them, "This move by the FDA is designed to once and for all destroy the 1994 DSHEA law that has made supplements 'legal' while eliminating nutritional supplements and natural medicine from the United States, ensuring monopoly profits and control by drug companies and the FDA. It is the latest action item by the FDA/Big Pharma conspiracy that will not stop until health freedom has been abolished, drug companies rule the nation, and every citizen is drugged up on monopoly-priced pharmaceuticals. FDA "experts" will decide what's a drug or medical device. Under these proposed guidelines, FDA "experts" (the same corrupt officials who reapproved Vioxx after it killed over 50,000 Americans) will decide whether herbs, supplements, vitamins or simple devices like massage stones are to be regulated as drugs and medical devices. If the FDA experts, in their infinite wisdom, decide that these things are to be reclassified, they will essentially be outlawed, stripped from the shelves, and regulated out of existence. Anyone who dares to manufacture, promote or sell such products may be branded a criminal and rounded up by armed FDA agents who have a well-established history of suppressing natural medicine."
Adams' book documents much of the criminal history of the FDA, including FDA-ordered book burnings, raids on vitamin shops, kidnapping of natural health practitioners, threats, intimidation and oppression tactics that have been used to suppress natural alternative medicine for nearly a century.

Like Adams says, "The FDA is about to deal a final, fatal blow to the alternative medicine industry, outlawing nutritional supplements, functional foods, homeopathy and natural therapies all at once. This is not a drill. It really is time to be alarmed. Nothing else I've written about this year is as important as this sinister plot to destroy natural medicine and force the American population to resort to dangerous prescription medications sold at monopoly prices under a system of medical tyranny. Your access to vitamins, supplements, herbs, and even energy medicine modalities is now directly threatened, and you have until April 30 to make your voice heard." This is not a drill. It really is time to be alarmed. Americans' access to vitamins, supplements, herbs, and even energy medicine modalities is now directly threatened.

What can you do? First, see for yourself I'm not making this up by reading the document yourself on the Internet at [www.fda.gov].

One thing you will read is "...a product used in a CAM therapy or practice may be subject to regulation as a biological product, cosmetic, drug, device, or food (including food additives and dietary supplements) under the act or the PHS Act. Second, neither the act nor the PHS Act exempts CAM products from regulation." Translation: Anything used in any system of medicine may now be regulated as a drug or medical device by the FDA. This includes a biofeedback machine, acupuncture needles, a cup of herbal tea, massage oil, a glass of vegetable juice or even a bottle of water.

Another thing you will read is: "...if a person decides to produce and sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health... [and] if the juice therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to regulation as a drug under the Act." Translation: Raw vegetable juice will be regulated as a drug and must be FDA approved as a drug if it has any health effect whatsoever. Handing a cup of raw vegetable juice to someone and telling them it's good for the detoxification of their liver will get you arrested for practicing medicine without a license and promoting an "unapproved drug."

And: ..."biologically based practices" includes, but is not limited to, botanicals, animal-derived extracts, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, prebiotics and probiotics: whole diets, and "functional foods". ...a botanical product intended for use in treating a disease would generally be regulated as a drug." ..."functional foods" may be subject to FDA regulation as foods, dietary supplements, or drugs under the Act. Translation: All foods, supplements, super foods and functional foods may be reclassified as drugs by the FDA, then regulated off the market.

Like Adam says, "It is very clear that the FDA is intending to regulate and ultimately destroy the entire Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) industry." Based on the explanations in the FDA's own document, here is just a sample of the things likely to occur: a person growing and selling common garden herbs could be arrested as a drug dealer; whole foods, supplements, vitamins and homeopathic remedies could disappear from store shelves "pending FDA review" (processed junk foods and pharmaceuticals being left on the shelves, as they like it); therapeutic herbal teas outlawed and confiscated; vitamin store owners arrested and prosecuted for "practicing medicine without a license"; Americans with personal inventories of "unapproved drugs" (also known as vitamins and herbs) could have their homes raided and gunpoint and be treated like criminals by law enforcement agents.
It should be noted that the FDA is the same agency that: wants to label irradiated foods (radiation being a known danger) as "pasteurized," voted to put Vioxx back on the market after over 10,000 deaths, raided a church at gunpoint, confiscating biofeedback machines and charging that they were "practicing medicine" by counseling church members on issues like depression. The FDA openly allows known cancer-causing additives in processed foods. One would think that with the growing use of super foods, herbs and supplements what the FDA is really worried about is a serious outbreak of health!

To contact the FDA and let them know what you think of the proposed guidelines, be sure to include the docket number (Docket No. 2006D-0480) with your comments. You can write them at:

Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305)
5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

Next, you can lodge your complaint against the FDA by commenting on this docket through the FDA's docket comment form by going to www.fda.gov. Click on "Comment on Proposed Regulations" (which is about halfway down the page and a bit to the left). You will see a box that has a title in it that says E-Comments. Click on the link that says "Submit Your Comments." Now you will see a list of proposed regulations on which you can send a comment. For this issue you want to click on the word "Go" on the right end of the row for 2006D-0480. This thing is really buried in there, folks, and not made easy to find. The regulations are NOT in any kind of numerical order. (At the time I registered my comment Docket No. 2006D-0480 was somewhere between 121 and 135 on the list.) If you think this is easier, you could go directly to the page to submit your comment at:
[www.accessdata.fda.gov]

Additionally, it will be helpful if you will write your Senator or Congressperson about this issue. Write the letter in your own words, even if it's just two sentences. Individual letters have a hundred times the impact of form letters. Finally, send this story to everyone you know. Spread the word. Raise the alarm. With enough public support, the FDA will be forced to back off this insane proposal.

If you wish to speak to someone at the FDA about this proposal, the following are phone numbers listed in the FDA document: Sheryl Lard-Whiteford at 301-827-0379; Daniel Nguyen at 301-827-8971; Ted Stevens at 301-594-1184; and Wayne Amchin at 301-827-6739.

Yeah, this is true.
This is the official www.FDA.gov link where it comes from - [www.fda.gov]

This is the exact words about juices in short for people who might not want to read everything above:

CAM stands for Complimentary Alternative Medicine.

"Second, neither the Act nor the PHs Act exempts CAM products from
regulation. This means, for example, if a person decides to produce and
sell raw vegetable juice for use in juice therapy to promote optimal health,
that product is a food subject to the requirements for foods in the Act and
FDA regulations, including the hazard analysis and critical control point
(HACCP) system requirements for juices in 21 CFR part 120. If -the juice
therapy is intended for use as part of a disease treatment regimen instead
of for the general wellness, the vegetable juice would also be subject to
regulation as a drug under the Act."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2007 11:17PM by LikeItOrNot.

I don't buy raw juices anyway, not an issue where I live. But I'd imagine this would be a huge problem in Cali with all the raw food places. Anyone here from Cali would have a better chance at getting the word out to people who would care and jump right on this crap to help stop it. Go print this crap and hand it out at raw restaruants or something.

Thank you, Avocadess! Bless you for taking the time to make it crystal clear and spell out what people can do. We need more thoughtful activists like you in the world. If everyone on this board takes the measures Avocadess suggests AND also sends this information on to their friends and 5-10 other forums, many thousands of people will be reached and many of them will act. We don't have to lie down and take it.

Sharrhan:


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I've been posting all this info on health forums and it's amazing how many people aren't interested and make fun of it anyway calling it "hippy" stuff. One of the forums people were happy about it and saying there's no reason it shouldnt be regulated as regular medicine, etc. etc. Can't argue against science, etc. Of course these are also typical ignorant SAD americans who didn't even take the time to read anything. The other half just say "it wont happen" because it sounds so ridiculous to them.

I think we should all send an email to WholeFoods. Biggest health food store and maybe they could do something in their stores to get the word out. Not everyone who uses supplements, eats organic, etc,etc. is posting on internet forums. Along with other health food type businesses that would care. Go to the local mall and spread the word to vitamin store owners could even help.Not just raw foodists who are going to care.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2007 11:21PM by LikeItOrNot.

thats a damn good idea..

We need to get a real grassroots thing going, and fast!

Another thing that I believe is hurting this movement right now is that a lot of people who do believe in and use alternative medicine, raw food, etc. also buy into an extreme version of 'law of attraction' in such a way that they have been led to believe they shouldn't fight for their rights or work for change because to do so would be negative or counter-productive. Thinking good, positive thoughts is great, but this problem won't go away without work. We can do it!

Sharrhan:


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America will be taken over too, we are really really deep in doo doo..the world does not like our world domination stunts

the law of attraction promotes action, which in turn promotes results... it doesn't simply happen from thoughts alone... anyway... coconut... the US is just a diversion for the corporate world. The world is already close to being taken over... anyway...

I took a look at the draft guidance that the link above pointed to and the impression I got with its specificity is that it targets any and everything not part of the allopathic system that is used to promote healthful living.

Who knows, maybe in the future, just encouraging someone to take deep breaths in a pristine non-polluted environment may also be considered an unapproved practice as it would involve promoting an activity involving a chemical reaction affecting the body which has not been rigourously researched nor scientifically proven to offer a substantial biological advantages over breathing in less oxygenated environments.

Wishing you vibrant health

Morrison,
Yes!!! We have to go within, get centered, clear the decks and cleanse our perceptions, and then inspiration usually impells us to take certain actions. The latter part is vital.

Sharrhan:


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