Results for: legislative alchemy

Legislative Alchemy: Michigan naturopathic licensing bill passes Senate

A bill granting naturopathic doctors one of the broadest scopes of practice in the country passed in the Michigan Senate. If enacted, the egregious quackery already being practiced by Michigan naturopaths will bear the imprimatur of state approval and rectifying harm to consumers will become much harder.

/ May 24, 2018

Legislative Alchemy 2017: Acupuncture

Acupuncture is nothing more than a theatrical placebo. Yet acupuncturists, defined as primary care practitioners in some states, are succeeding in licensing and practice expansion efforts in state legislatures.

/ January 19, 2018

Legislative Alchemy 2017: Chiropractic

Chiropractors are promoting themselves as primary care physicians. Some state legislatures are falling for it.

/ January 4, 2018

Legislative Alchemy 2017: Naturopathy

Via the magic of Legislative Alchemy, naturopathic "doctors" gained state licensure and practice expansion, but also suffered major defeats, in 2017.

/ December 21, 2017

Repealing Legislative Alchemy

We need to repeal federal and state laws that allow quackery and pseudoscience in healthcare.

/ October 12, 2017

Legislative Alchemy 2017: Naturopaths push licensing and practice expansion while in damage control over IV turmeric death

Naturopaths are in damage control mode over the death of a naturopathic patient due to turmeric infusion, even as they lobby state legislatures for licensing and practice expansion.

/ April 13, 2017

Turning chiropractors into primary care physicians via Legislative Alchemy

Via the magic of Legislative Alchemy, chiropractic lobbyists are trying to to convince state legislators to expand chiropractic scope of practice so they can rebrand as primary care physicians.

/ February 16, 2017

Legislative Alchemy 2016 Update: Acupuncturists win; naturopaths and chiropractors don’t (so far)

Legislative Alchemy is the process by which state legislatures transform pseudoscience and quackery into licensed health care practices. By legislative fiat, chiropractors can detect and correct non-existent subluxations, naturopaths can diagnose (with bogus tests) and treat (with useless dietary supplements and homeopathy) fabricated diseases like “adrenal fatigue” and “chronic yeast overgrowth,” and acupuncturists can unblock mythical impediments to the equally mythical “qi”...

/ July 21, 2016

Legislative Alchemy: Michigan House Bill 4531 gives naturopaths a broad scope of practice

Michigan House Bill 4531, if passed, would give naturopaths one of the broadest scopes of practice in the U.S., essentially equaling that of a family practice MD or DO. The bill made it through all the necessary House committees and is now before the House for an initial vote determining whether it will proceed further in that body. If it passes there,...

/ May 12, 2016

Legislative Alchemy 2015: Another losing season for CAM practitioners

One of the main, but perhaps underappreciated, reasons quackery thrives in the United States is that the states legalize it by licensing practitioners of pseudoscience as health care providers. These practitioners are placed under the regulatory jurisdiction of, well, themselves. I call the whole deplorable process Legislative Alchemy, and you can see all posts on the topic here. It gives practitioners an...

/ January 7, 2016