57 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
57 lines
2.6 KiB
Plaintext
This Article is taken from The Herbalist, newsletter of the
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Canadian Herbal Research Society. COPYRIGHT June 1988.
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Membership in the Society is $25.00 Canadian per year. You
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receive four copies of the Journal each year and help to promote
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herbalism and botanic medicine throughout Canada.
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THE SOCIETY HAS NO PAID OFFICIALS and is run entirely by
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volunteers from among the membership.
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If you would like more info please write:
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Botanic Medicine Society.
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P.O. Box 82. Stn. A.
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Willowdale, Ont. CANADA.
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M2N 5S7.
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Chinese Checkers!
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Last December saw new Government initiatives directed
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specifically towards imported Chinese medicines. The Oriental
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Community, fearing restrictions on the use of their traditional
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medicinal herbs, organised a public meeting in Toronto, inviting
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representatives from Health and Welfare Canada to explain the new
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Government position.
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I could not resist attending this meeting myself and after
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hearing both sides speak, it seems that these remedies are now
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subject to the same Food and Drug regulations that all other
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herbal preparations have to deal with. Packaging must now be
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bi-(tri?)-lingual, and no claims may be made in regard to their
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medicinal effectiveness, unless of course the remedy has a
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Government approved Drug Identification Number (DIN).
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Unfortunately Health and Welfare Canada appear to have adopted
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the `let's see how difficult we can make it for them' approach,
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when it comes to issuing these DIN numbers. This was amply
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illustrated at the meeting, with many fully documented examples
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of importers and manufacturers bending over backwards to conform
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to regulations, that seemed to change as frequently as the hair
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styles of the Government bureaucrats involved!
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As a service to our members the Society has available a full(?)
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list of the restricted Chinese herb products. The size of this
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list prohibits us from printing it here, so if you would like a
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copy, please write to us and we will mail one out to you.
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However, the importation and sale of non-proscribed Chinese herbs
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in their natural form, i.e. roots, leaves, barks etc. is NOT
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affected. Dong quai (Chinese angelica), will still be available
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at your herb store. Although for how long is anyone's guess. Our
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most useful and effective herbs are classed as restricted, with
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more joining the proscribed lists than ever before. How long
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before your chamomile tea becomes an illegal drug? Don't laugh,
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it's happening. Yet thousands of our citizens are addicted to the
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legal botanic drug caffeine, with the prospect of any restriction
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concerning its use, non existent. What on earth is going on here?
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