Confessions of a naturopathic doctor
Tomorrow, Monday May 23, 2016, licensed naturopaths and their students will “storm” the offices of lawmakers to lobby for naturopathic medicine. This day will mark the culmination of the annual naturopathic lobbying event called D.C. Federal Legislative Initiative (DC FLI) organized by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Yesterday, I...
Every year, naturopathic students and practitioners go to Washington D.C. to lobby for naturopathic medicine during an event called the DC Federal Legislative Initiative, DCFLI for short. The event is organized by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP). I participated in DCFLI, five years ago today, weeks away from...
This week, May 9-15, 2016, is Naturopathic Medicine Week in Canada. Let’s celebrate by recalling some problems with this alternative system of “medicine.” Naturopathy is based on a pre-scientific understanding of health and disease. Naturopaths believe that a magic force, called the vis, is responsible for determining the health of the mind...
A group of Canadian physicians recently asked me to post an open letter they sent to the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta concerning the conduct of naturopath Tracey Tannis in selling an herbal product to Ezekiel Stephan’s mother after she reported he might have meningitis. Ezekiel stopped breathing the...
Naturopathic practitioners should be banned from treating minors. I recently made this proposal in the context of the tragic death of Ezekiel Stephan, whose parents are on trial in Alberta for failing to provide the necessities of life. Ezekiel’s parents needlessly caused him to suffer from bacterial meningitis, in part by getting care from a licensed...
I have been planning to write this post for about a year. It has taken me this long to calmly put words to paper, as the topic of this article is sensitive for those of us who know someone, or who themselves, suffer from bipolar disorder. About ten months ago,...
On February 26, 2015, Senator Marty Block (D-San Diego) introduced CA Senate Bill 538 to remove scope limitations for licensed naturopaths in California. The bill aims to amend the existing law, the Naturopathic Doctors Act, so that naturopaths would be able to independently: order, perform, review, and interpret results of...
You are probably aware of Ezekiel Stephan, a 19 month old boy, who died in 2012, after his parents chose home remedies and naturopathy for the treatment of viral bacterial meningitis. The parents currently are on trial in Canada for failing to provide the necessities of life. Over the course of...
A little bird told me that California naturopathic “doctors” and their supporters are holding a meeting in Sacramento on March 9, 2016 to educate state lawmakers about naturopathic medicine in order to secure support for a stalled bill, S.B. 538, that would, in my opinion, dangerously expand their scope of...
I was not going to write about the recent “Naturopathic Chat” forum leak. But then, while having dinner tonight, I had a dark thought: What if my hypothetical naturopath (or real doctor) were talking about me, my medical history, family, and other personally identifiable information in a web forum with a readership of 3,300 members? And what...