Wayback Wednesday - The History of Herbal Medicine

This panel “The History of Herbal Medicine in the United States” was recorded during ASA’s 2014 Unity Conference. The panel included Dr. Lyle Craker, Peter Hutt, Tony Young, and Jane Wilson, and was moderated by Lewis Grossman.
As we are shaping the federal policies for medical cannabis, it is important to understand that Cannabis is not the only plant that has struggled for legitimacy as a medicine in the United States and how other non-pharmaceutical medical products have moved through phases of federal legality and regulations. These regulations have positive and negative impacts for patients. This panel predicted the issues that we are now seeing with FDA and CBD and highlights pitfall’s in the current regulatory pathway.
ASA has utilized this information and advice from these mentors to guide our legislative proposals, grassroots campaigns, create product safety standards, guide regulations, and to create our Patient Focused Certification Program.
It is important to note that while dietary supplements and herbal medicines are now expressly legal, many of these products have been delegated to class outside medicine and food, often referred to as “wellness products”. This means that their use is not taught about in medical schools, and that these products are out of reach for many Americans because they are not covered by insurance, and they cannot be purchased with food stamps or food assistance funds.
Without the work of advocates and the creation of a grassroots movement, it is likely that herbal medicines would still be considered illegal food additives to this day.
RIP 2022 Lyle Cracker, thank you for all that you taught us. We will keep your work alive.
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