CAM Practitioners will not be felons! We did it!!
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:34 pm
The felony bill that was pending in the North Carolina legislature was amended today to exempt CAM practitioners. Great news for us! It passed the House and now must go back to the Senate. Details below.
Hart Matthews
Durham, NC
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Laura Combs" >
Date: Apr 7, 2011 3:12 PM
Subject: CAM Practitioners will not be felons! We did it!!
To: "Laura Combs" >
We did it!! Today Representative Jennifer Weiss amended the terrible Senate Bill 31 and excluded Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners from being felons. It passed the House on second reading 111 to 5 and then third reading by majority voice vote! Now it goes back to the Senate for approval and then to the Governor’s desk for approval. SB 31 will now only make felons out of people who wrongfully claim to be licensed for medical practice and actually practice medicine.
I anticipate that the Senate will easily pass the amended bill, as Senator Mansfield, the bill’s sponsor, coordinated with Representative Weiss on the amendment. A number of Reps stood up in support of Senator Weiss’ amendment, and the all talked about the many, many emails and calls they received.
So, all the herbalists, homeopaths, naturopaths, midwives and others can breathe a sigh of relief for now. The most they can do is still charge you with a misdemeanor.
The House and Senate still intend to come back at some point and tinker with the laws to address CAM more in depth, and we need to be alert and wary, but at least we can celebrate for now.
Thank you for taking the time to write and call. What is truly amazing about this experience is that a true grassroots movement not associated with any organization quickly took shape and stormed the capitol. In a week we were able to completely turn around a bad bill. Not in all my years working on government/political issues have I seen anything like that. In fact I became so jaded that government was not responsive to the people that I pretty much lost hope. Now I have it back. We yelled and they listened.
Next on my docket…maybe a Constitutional Amendment for health care choice in NC. I need to decide if I am going to carve out a niche for myself and try to bring some unity to the CAM community and represent them. The Naturopaths hung the others out to dry and the Acupuncturists and Chiropractors did not alert the others to this bill (which did not concern them because they are exempt). The CAM community needs to work together and have very open lines of communication. But then…we were so powerful on the spur of the moment that maybe it should stay that way. It certainly was a new approach and it shocked the legislature.
Thanks everyone!
GREAT BIG SMILES!
Laura
Laura Combs
www.movingstronglyforward.typepad.com
The older I get, the better I feel!
Hart Matthews
Durham, NC
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Laura Combs" >
Date: Apr 7, 2011 3:12 PM
Subject: CAM Practitioners will not be felons! We did it!!
To: "Laura Combs" >
We did it!! Today Representative Jennifer Weiss amended the terrible Senate Bill 31 and excluded Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners from being felons. It passed the House on second reading 111 to 5 and then third reading by majority voice vote! Now it goes back to the Senate for approval and then to the Governor’s desk for approval. SB 31 will now only make felons out of people who wrongfully claim to be licensed for medical practice and actually practice medicine.
I anticipate that the Senate will easily pass the amended bill, as Senator Mansfield, the bill’s sponsor, coordinated with Representative Weiss on the amendment. A number of Reps stood up in support of Senator Weiss’ amendment, and the all talked about the many, many emails and calls they received.
So, all the herbalists, homeopaths, naturopaths, midwives and others can breathe a sigh of relief for now. The most they can do is still charge you with a misdemeanor.
The House and Senate still intend to come back at some point and tinker with the laws to address CAM more in depth, and we need to be alert and wary, but at least we can celebrate for now.
Thank you for taking the time to write and call. What is truly amazing about this experience is that a true grassroots movement not associated with any organization quickly took shape and stormed the capitol. In a week we were able to completely turn around a bad bill. Not in all my years working on government/political issues have I seen anything like that. In fact I became so jaded that government was not responsive to the people that I pretty much lost hope. Now I have it back. We yelled and they listened.
Next on my docket…maybe a Constitutional Amendment for health care choice in NC. I need to decide if I am going to carve out a niche for myself and try to bring some unity to the CAM community and represent them. The Naturopaths hung the others out to dry and the Acupuncturists and Chiropractors did not alert the others to this bill (which did not concern them because they are exempt). The CAM community needs to work together and have very open lines of communication. But then…we were so powerful on the spur of the moment that maybe it should stay that way. It certainly was a new approach and it shocked the legislature.
Thanks everyone!
GREAT BIG SMILES!
Laura
Laura Combs
www.movingstronglyforward.typepad.com
The older I get, the better I feel!