Feds preparing next big power grab: Natural remedies

Homeopathic remedies, the natural treatments people use to guard their health, have been for ages, and many swear by them.

Back in the 1930s, when the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was created, homeopathy was formally recognized with the adoption of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States.

However, in recent years, the federal government has begun to crack down. The lastest measure is a set of proposed guidelines by the Food and Drug Administration that would begin applying a "risk-based enforcement approach to drug products labeled as homeopathic ... consistent with FDA's risk-based regulatory approaches generally."

For example, the FDA says it will start watching "vulnerable populations such as infants and children, the elderly and pregnant women" because they may "be at greater risk of harm."

It also will crack down on "products intended to be used for the prevention or treatment of serious and/or life-threatening disease and conditions" because they could "delay ... medical treatments."

It also will begin deciding what is subject to its enforcement actions and when, although its documentation does concede that the agency simply decided, without corresponding direction from Congress, to make the change. The newest chief of the agency is Scott Gottlieb, but the concern over homeopathy extends back years.

It would go beyond Obamacare by determining even which natural remedies would be allowed without punishment.

The public comment period for the regulations is open until March 20.

An expert on the issue, Patricia Feijo, said the new oversight would limit Americans' access to remedies and benefit "Big Pharma," the mega-businesses that create and sell drugs worldwide.

In a report at the Center for Medical Freedom, a project of the Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund, she argues federal law "does not give the FDA the authority to apply the rules designed only for toxic pharmaceuticals to nontoxic homeopathic remedies."

America is no longer a free country. This is the terrifying story of how a small Christian ministry that created effective medical treatments was shut down, at gunpoint, by the federal government. It’s a book no liberty-loving American can afford to ignore. "Called To Stand" by Patricia Feijo, available now in the WND Superstore.

"The FDA's only job is to ensure that products are manufactured according to legal standards and are properly labeled," she said. "The rules and regulations governing homeopathic remedies that have been in place for most of the last century are more than adequate to protect the public."

She and her husband engaged in a years-long battle with the government to protect the Daniel Chapter One program they created.

It was only after an aggressive raid by the FDA and IRS, with agents carrying weapons and screaming, that the government succeeding in closing them down.

Even though there were no consumer problems or customer complaints.

Jim Feijo said at the time that the rationale behind the government's action could open practically every American to the charge of "practicing medicine" for sharing or utilizing folk remedies, with fines and punishments to follow.

Patricia Feijo has memorialized their story her book "Called To Stand,"published by World Ahead Press.

All of the ingredients used in their products, Patricia Fiejo explained, were recognized by the government as safe. But that didn't matter.

The government's National Institutes of Health, which like other government components frequently works with the pharmaceutical industry, frequently criticizes homeopathy.

In its own description of the practice, it said, "There is little evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment for any specific condition."

Homeopathy USA explains homeopathy is "natural" because its remedies are from "natural sources, whether vegetable, mineral, or animal."

The site explains: "The guiding principle of homeopathy is stated as 'let likes cure likes,' similia similibus curentur. … It was German physician Dr. C. F. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) who first codified this principle into a system of medicine."

Patricia Feijo is a professional homeopath who graduated from the New England School of Homeopathy in 1993, trained under several renowned classical homeopaths and did advanced study through the Renaissance Institute of Classical Homeopathy under Dr. Luc De Schepper.

She wrote that the FDA is "disregarding federal law and usurping the right of American people to use historically available health-enhancing products of their choosing."

"The FDA is claiming that it is homeopathy's rise in popularity that has forced it to focus attention on homeopathy, and to take a fresh look at restricting access to homeopathic remedies and products. Is that a good enough reason to clamp down on homeopathy? While there have been charges made about the safety of a few homeopathic products (e.g., Belladonna and homeopathic teething tablets), these charges have been shown to be baseless, and can usually be tracked back to Big Pharma and its minions," she charged.

"Absolutely no evidence has been presented that any of these charges against these products are true, and significant proof should be demanded before such charges are believed and acted upon. The few specific complaints the FDA points to must be carefully analyzed for other causative factors. Some of those could include whether the babies that reportedly developed seizures had recently been vaccinated, or were given other drug products, or were nursing mothers taking dangerous, but FDA-approved, pharmaceutical drugs."

She explained that homeopathic products are becoming more popular because "more informed consumers are opting for safer, gentler medicine over pharmaceutical chemicals."

And today, "it is not the job of FDA employees to place their value judgment on this system of medicine, but only to ensure that such drugs are manufactured according to legal standards and are properly labeled."

The government already overseas manufacturing, labeling, marketing and sales of remedies, and that's more than enough for safety, she explained.

"There has not been a single, verified case of harm or death from a homeopathic remedy – in 200 years. There has not been a single case of addiction to homeopathic remedies. Those are the facts, while chemical drug deaths contribute to the third leading cause of death in the nation – 'accidental injury' – with drug overdose and the opioid crisis largely to blame."

She explained: "Just as those who came before us have long defended homeopathy from attack by politicians and competing schools of medicine, the job now falls to us. Frankly, it does not matter if you use homeopathic remedies or products, or ever plan to. All should be concerned about arbitrary restrictions on the choice. But especially if you have used homeopathy, make your voice heard today – the deadline is before midnight on Tuesday, March 20, 2018."

Comments can be filed electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal by following the instructions at the government's website.

She suggested a comment like this:

I strongly oppose any effort to impose new bureaucratic rules and regulations on homeopathic remedies and products. The FDA has no authority to treat completely safe homeopathic products as though they were toxic pharmaceutical chemicals. Millions of people in the United States and around the world have used homeopathic products for more than two centuries without problem. Americans would not use these products if they were not helpful. Even though BIG PHARMA provides much of the FDA’s budget, it should not dictate its policies. The FDA must follow the law, and since 1938 homeopathic remedies have been given a special status by Congress because they are not toxic and dangerous drugs. The American people insist on continued, unrestricted access to homeopathic products.

Ten years ago, WND reported when the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission launched their war on Daniel Chapter One.