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[The
following letter was originally published at Acupuncture Today on March 30,
2004, which is available at http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/online/bobxu.html
]
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ACMA
Publication Issue April 1, 2004
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Letter
to the Entire Chinese Medicine Community
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Dear
Chinese Medicine Community:
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Currently,
many things are happening relating to Chinese Medicine. FDA’s final
rule, banning the use of any product that contains ma huang (herba ephedrae)
and ban xia (rhizoma pinelliae), the US House bill H.R.435 and the US Senate
bill S.R.260, etc.
These
are very serious issues facing the entire Chinese Medicine community
now.
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From
fangji, mutong to aristolochic acid, from mahuang, ephedrine alkaloids to ban
xia, etc., the integrity of Chinese Medicine (CM) has been encroached piece by
piece, step by step.
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Reviewing
the pathway of Chinese Medicine in the United States, we realize that there
are deeper root causes behind these events. If these root causes are not
removed, Chinese Medicine will continuously be attacked unreasonably from
different angles, one after another.
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These
root causes are very urgent issues to the entire Chinese Medicine community.
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Since
emigrated to America, Chinese Medicine has been getting sick. The
diagnosis is “CM Illness”. The cause is environmental hazardousness
(Shui Tu Bu Fu). The therapeutic principle will be to search for the
primary cause of the disease (Zhi Bing Qiu Ben).
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Fangji,
mutong, aristolochic acid, mahuang, ephedrine alkaloids, ban xia etc.
incidents are only the symptoms (biao) of “CM Illness”. The root
cause (ben) of “CM Illness” is a group of pre-existing, outdated laws that
place Chinese Medicine into a hazardous environment.
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In
order to treat the root causes of “CM Illness”, American Chinese Medicine
Association (ACMA) has initiated a “Letter to the Congress – Follow Up
(1)” (see below). As the Letter elucidated, the root causes of “CM
Illness” are the following outdated laws inappropriately imposed on Chinese
Medicine:
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(1)
1994 DSHEA;
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(2)
State Medical Practice Act;
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(3)
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
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Without
correcting the root causes and amending these outdated laws, Chinese Medicine
will be continuously attacked, encroached, hurt, and damaged. In the
end, the “CM Illness” cannot be cured, and the entire Chinese Medicine
community will be seriously injured.
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To
help Chinese Medicine recover from the “CM Illness”, you may make
contribution by
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(a)
passing the “Letter to the Congress – Follow Up (1)” to your patients,
students, friends, and relatives;
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(b)
encouraging them to send this letter to Congressional Representatives of their
district.
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Thank
you.
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Sincerely,
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Bob
Xu, CMD, MS
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President
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American
Chinese Medicine Association (ACMA)
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