Fwd: Colorado Naturopaths

[Guest guest]

Hi!

I need to send this along, because for 17 years now - long, arduous

attempts to make naturopathy a true profession in Colorado have been

undertaken. This year, a bill to regulate naturopathy got

re-written into a very benign attempt to create a " task force "

to register naturopaths and let the department of regulatory agencies

" study " (alongside confused legislators) what naturopaths

actually DO.

Then someone let fly with the magic lie: " if this bill passes,

you're going to need a prescription for vitamin C " !! An angry

mob of people stormed the capitol and created enough chaos to make the

legislators stop the benign bill's progress. I might storm to the

capitol in a similar frenzy if I thought such rumors were true. But

alas, those rumors were only lies.

 

I'll share a message from the association president of the CANP:

Colorado Association of Naturopathic

Physicians

 

 

HB 1064 Killed in Committee

 

 

Dear Justin,

The email below says it better than we ever could:

HB 1064 Killed in Committee Today

WHAT A SAD DAY UNDER THE DOME. OUR CITIZENS DESERVE SAFE AND REGULATED

HEALTH & WELLNESS CHOICES, AND I AM NOT ONLY SADDENED, BUT

EMBARRASSED BY THE OUTCOME.

Senator Suzanne Williams

__________________

Naturopathic doctors are not going away. We will be back in front of the

legislature. We will find a way to work with interested parties who

choose to negotiate in good faith, for a strong comprehensive solution to

this health care issue.

We made some incredible strides this year: the medical society moved from

a position of strong opposition to a neutral stance on this bill; all of

the other professional groups we met with had their concerns heard and

met to their satisfaction; and we amended the bill to create a Task Force

under the direction of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). This

was done at the suggestion of law-makers who felt that Colorado needs

more in-state information by registering Colorado practitioners and

allowing the public and all interested health care practitioners an

organized structure in which they can verify practitioner's credentials,

lodge complaints, and weigh in on the merit and value of registering

naturopathic doctors.

As we saw this year, an enormous group of ill-informed people came out to

oppose this legislation. We were saddened and frustrated by the methods

our opposition chose to employ.

Should you be disappointed or even outraged by this year's legislative

outcome, I encourage you to let your Representative(s) know about it.

Demand the legislature take the actions recommended under two different

administrations by the DORA to regulate naturopathic doctors. Contribute

to our legislative fund by sending a check written to the CANP to our

treasurer, Dr. Kim Nearpass P.O. Box 4236 Frisco, CO 80443.

Thank you all for your support. You will be hearing from us again!

Dee Koloski ND, LAc

CANP President

 

There is a deep-pocketed lobbyist from out-of-state who specializes in

spreading these lies, and he has painted the Naturopathic Doctors as

exclusionary, to a few zealous followers in Colorado. He has

refused to meet in good faith, year after year.

Is it exclusionary that Osteopathy is synonymous with

" D.O. " ? Is it exclusionary that Chiropractic is

sysnonymous with " D.C. " ? Do we see any mail-order degree

schools handing out M.D., D.O. or D.C. after a 12-class correspondence

course, and do we want our " Doctors " that ill trained? It

seems that the zealots I spoke of earlier would like " N.D. " to

stay as a mail-order degree. No clinical experience necessary to

play doctor. ( " N.D " DOES stand for Naturopathic

Doctor.)

 

The states that licence N.D.s as professional " Doctors " have

none of the restrictions that the zealots here would have people

believe.

Vitamins are sold over-the-counter.

Herbs and homeopathics are sold over-the-counter.

Health food stores FLOURISH.

Natural medicine practitioners of every walk (lay homeopaths, herbalists,

nutritionists, counselors, hydrotherapy practitioners... people who

practice eclectic " naturopathy-like " forms of healing)

FLOURISH.

No-one is put out of business. It's just that people who call

themselves Naturopathic DOCTORS and PHYSICIANS, are ACTUALLY

TRAINED. Trained in clinics. Trained to refer when

necessary. Trained in classrooms and gardens on how to use herbs,

nutrients, food, water, sunlight, wellness counseling and healing

touch.

 

And, the N.D.s who are clinically trained, are just as passionate about

the Healing Power of Nature, the healing use of herbs, nutrients, good

lifestyle, hydrotherapy - as the originators of this profession.

(Because naturopathy IS a profession). Here is an exerpt from a

letter written by the family of Benedict Lust:

" The Lust family has in the past supported, and will continue to

support genuine, licensed physicians and accredited institutions of

higher learning who, with integrity and legitimate purpose, use the

principals fostered and created by Benedict Lust and his associates to

further the education and training of Naturopathic physicians.

Those who have created mail order institutions, or provided unlicensed

and unaccredited degrees and any who don’t support state licensing

efforts, are suspect in our mind and generally denigrate and destroy the

principal educational processes established by our ancestor Benedict

Lust. We repeat, no such person or institution who has

advanced a claim of association to us or Benedict Lust, has ever received

the support of Benedict Lust’s estate and his lineal descendants.

Many of us still engage in Naturopathic endeavors and support legitimate

education in the field through accredited schools and those qualified by

the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education as candidates for

such accreditation.

We

welcome the well-intentioned dialogue of those who would seek to correct

this situation by helping us in discrediting, disassociating, and

disavowing any relationship to Benedict Lust or his estate and family by

those who do not support proper education and licensure. If you

find yourself in a need to engage in such discourse please feel free to

contact John Benedict Lust, Jr., P. O. Box 615, Branford, CT

06405-0615. "

 

Those who would keep Naturopathy as an unaccredited correpondence degree

would do well to re-read the letter from Benedict Lust's family.

In the 1800's, " traditional medical doctors " performed

blood-letting of ill humors, and had what many considered sub-standard

education. The education of most " doctors " , including

naturopaths in the 1800's, was not what it is today. Those who

would call themselves " traditional naturopaths " would do well

to consider the growth capacity and intelligence of professions like

ours. Stagnation does not become us.

 

Thank you for this forum on naturopathic education! May we all see

natural medicine flourish, and the positive growth of the naturopathic

profession - as we affect natural healing for our patients across this

nation.

 

Justin Pollack, ND

CANP Vice-President