Certification and Evaluation

[Guest guest]

Dear Mercy Yule and Honorable Colleagues on List,

 

First of all, thank you Mercy for attaching California Assembly Bill 573.

I've taken now well over a month to think my way through it. I like to

think slowly on such matters. I'm also copying my thoughts to others who I

feel would do well to think slowly through it, too. I would greatly

appreciate it if those on list would prove my following comments to be

wrong.

 

Assembly Bill 573 is interesting in some regards. The language of the bill

sets out to establish and protect some fine ideals. However, such wonderful

ideals in my humble opinion should not be subject to state law and then

cause the state to regulate those ideals. As far as I can tell, this bill

would tend to shift the herb business out of California to either New York

or possible to Oregon since importing could be done there. The herb market

is so small and such a niche industry, it would seem to me that

practitioners such as yourself would try to encourage import of herbs rather

than set up fees and fairly esoteric standards to regulate it. I can attest

to the fact that the USDA, the FDA and Fish and Wildlife are already fairly

significant hurdles for small businesses, but not at all impossible or

unreasonable at this time.

 

Imagine trying to bring in a 40-foot container with perhaps 60 or 70

varieties of herbs on it. Each type of herb would represent a separate

" lot " which I normally document as such in my paperwork to meet the GMP

requirements of the many companies that buy from me. However, if I needed

to pay 60 or 70 separate fees for California certification, I would

respectfully decline to import herbs into California. The price of herbs

would soar in this state. You as a practitioner may end up being an

acupuncturist and nothing more. You might have a few finished formulas from

large corporations that could afford the certification fees. You certainly

would lose your access to crude herbs, or at least ones supplied by

companies other than corporate giants. Perhaps ADM or Monsanto could step

in and help out.

 

This bill, as I see it, would basically create the groundwork for corporate

business, and would basically deny small business enterprise regarding herb

import and distribution. Really the richness of Chinese medicine in

California right now is predicated on hundreds of small businesses, some of

which import, some of which distribute, and so on. What small Chinese

company could afford to get their products certified in California?

Certainly, of course, you would be much " safer " if this richness did not

exist. You would also not have to rely (so thoroughly) on your own unique

knowledge of herbs. The big wild forest of herbs that we call California

would be cleansed for your protection.

 

A more reasonable alternative is to actually train students more thoroughly

in the organoleptic identification of the true herbs of literature and

pharmaceutical use in the main hospitals of Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and

Chengdu. If people wanted the herbs that come from Hong Kong/Shen Zhen

distribution, then people could also study those herbs as they do now at

most schools. Learning to differentiate high quality and true herbs would

be the responsibility of the practitioner rather than a government agency.

 

I know there is a trend among current graduates of TCM schools to want to

feel " empowered " by their " medicine " . They would like the public to know

that they have a powerful tool on their shelf for healing their patients.

And I would agree that they do indeed ... for the moment. I wonder if this

is part of the motivation for this bill. Unfortunately we live in an

American scene where one sku of medicine costs approximately $500 million to

bring to market. Imagine if each of your herbs had to undergo the process

of being a medicine in America. Even the fees to pay for what is proposed

in the Assembly bill will, in my opinion, pretty much force you to stop

using raw herbs for your patients. That would be a shame. It's my view

that one of the real powers of Chinese medicine is the noble herbs that

should be combined in their crude form into formulas and cooked by the

patients. That's just my opinion. I would be sad indeed to see Assembly

Bill 573 become law in California and reduce that option. However, having

said that, I fully realize we can't stop the future.

 

I would like practitioners, however, to really see the seeds they are sowing

by demanding this level of certification. Instead of using their own

knowledge and discrimination, they'll be reduced to living within the

regulatory environment mandated by this bill. It's my opinion that it would

make California a somewhat less desirable place to live and practice. I

also suspect you may not find raw herbs so available in this state as they

are now. You would need to get ready to buy herbs at highly inflated prices

from large corporate entities. The current scenario of small Chinese

companies selling raw herbs will cease to exist.

 

Bear in mind this is my opinion. Just one person's view of the effect of

this bill. However, I've taken a month to think through the consequences

of the bill's language as well as the nature of state regulation. I welcome

the thoughts of others. I know that my European friends like Simon Becker

are aghast at the unregulated nature of Chinese herbs in America. But then

I love the richness of our forest, even with its inherent dangers. I'm kind

of a wilderness lover. Simon can attest to the fact that there is just one

lonely company with the guts to import crude herbs into Europe. Perhaps I

am wrong, Simon, but that's the impression you've given me. Please educate

me if I'm off on this point. I would like the facts to be clearly stated.

 

My belief, and the reason I came to work for my company in 1995, is the way

to " preserve traditional herbs " is to identify the traditional growers and

wildcrafters of merit as identified by Chinese agronomists. And then pay

American dollars directly to the growers for their produce. I don't think

the government of California with even the best of intentions can possibly

do this no matter how much money (fees) we give them.

 

My humble gratitude to those that actually read all of this,

 

Emmanuel Segmen

 

-

" Mercy Yule "

" Emmanuel Segmen "

Thursday, April 10, 2003 5:07 PM

Certification and Evaluation

 

 

> Hi Emmanuel

>

> Thank you for taking my call today. Attached is Assembly Bill 573 for

> your perusal.

>

> Over the past few years the herb committee of the Alliance (AOMA) has

> organized yearly conference presentations on quality evaluations,

> organic growing of Chinese herbs, certification questions, and

> regulations that affect herbs. I would enjoy hearing more of your

> thoughts on preserving traditional evaluation methods, and bringing more

> of that expertise here.

>

> Best regards,

> Mercy Yule, L.Ac.

>