Back Door Attack on Homeopathy: Speak Out Now, Or Lose Your Freedom (3)

Page 3: Civil rights can be lost in sudden coups or they can be lost drop by drop, through incursions into our lives that may seem intended for our benefit or seem to affect someone else, not you. In our great land, we’re losing our rights through the dripping method.

Continued from Page 2
by Heidi Stevenson

Click here to take action!

Overall Effect

Full implementation of the Medicines Act 1968 with its revisions will result in a dramatic loss of access to a health treatment modality that many people find effective and convenient. The obvious result will be the loss of a healing modality that as many as 6,000,000 people rely on and have a right to utilize, plus the loss of many small businesses, further devastating our nation’s fiscal health and eroding our town centers.

Most significant, though, is the chilling effect on people’s right to manage their health as they see fit.

Whether you approve of homeopathy or not, there is no legitimate argument that a governmental agency should regulate homeopathy medicines in the same manner as pharmaceutical drugs—in particular when the costs are borne by individuals, not the state-provided system.

Civil rights can be lost in sudden coups or they can be lost drop by drop, through incursions into our lives that may seem intended for our benefit or seem to affect someone else, not you. In our great land, we’re losing our rights through the dripping method.

If you believe that homeopathy doesn’t work, then this probably won’t matter to you. However, what happens when something you do like is attacked? If this attempt to destroy homeopathy takes effect, then a precedent will be set. Rights will continue to drip away. At some point, an issue you care about will be lost.

Wouldn’t it be ironic to realize that your willingness to force your views on others leads to the loss of your own cause?

How to Fix the Problem

Fortunately, the fix is very simple. Section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968 should be amended with a simple statement that is equivalent to one that’s in another pending act, the Medicines Act 2012. Section 195(1)(2)(a) effectively exempts most homeopathic preparations:

195. —(1) Regulations 173 and 174 do not apply to the sale or supply, or offer for sale or supply by a person (“P”) of a medicinal product if—

(2) This paragraph applies to a medicinal product that consists solely of one or more unit preparations of—

(a) any substance where the unit preparation has been diluted to at least one part in a million (6x);

Simply adding wording equivalent to this in Section 10(4)(a) would resolve the problem. That’s what we need to ask for. 

In plain English, all you need to do is state that medicines diluted to at least one part in a million, homeopathy’s 6X potency, should be excluded from Section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968.

Take Action!

It’s late in the game. This law will probably take effect sometime towards the end of May or during June. If you truly value your freedom, then you need to take definitive action now! The best thing you can do is go to your Member of Parliament’s office and state your concerns. When someone goes to the trouble of assuring that a face can be put to this issue, it stands a good chance of being remembered and taken seriously.

Barring that, then the action that can have a serious effect is to write a message and mail it or send it by e-mail to your Member of Parliament. We need numbers. There are millions of people who take advantage of homeopathy and swear that it’s benefited them. Some believe it’s saved their lives.

Here are keys to writing your message:

• You may feel insecure about writing. The quality of writing doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you make the effort and ask for the right thing.
• Your message need not be long.
• If possible, you should include at least one point that supports your reason for asking that Section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968 be amended. It can be a personal reason or a technical one.
• Be specific about what we need. State that Section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968 should be modified to include a statement like Section 195(1)(2)(a)—or more simply that you believe homeopathic medicines should not be included in Section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968.

That’s all!

How to Contact Your MP

It’s not difficult. Even if you don’t know who your MP is, here’s all the information you need to produce a message and send it to the right place:

• To send an e-mail, go to the Write to Them website (http://www.writetothem.com/). Just follow the instructions. It will help even if you don’t know your post code!
• To send a letter, mail it to:(Your MP’s Name)
  The House of Commons
  Westminster
  London SW1A 0AA
• You can obtain your MP’s name and direct contact details by dialing the House of Commons Information Office at 020 7219 4272 or go to the website Find Your MP (http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/).

Thank You!

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Photo by Dan of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Sources:

• Section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968
• 2012 No. MEDICINES The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (Medicines Act 2012), Page 115, Section 195(1)(2)(a)

Addendum:

If you’re curious about which five pharmacies form the backbone of homeopathic prescribing in the UK, they are:

• Helios
• Ainsworth’s
• Nelson’s
• Freeman’s
• Weleda