Bill C-51 - prescrip. for herbs and vitamins!!! PLS. READ - WILL AFFECT YOU

[onthejourney]

Bill C-51?

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!! This is like a slippery slope to dictatorship! How dare they? If anyone from the Hammer would like to attend the rally tomorrow, let me know and maybe we can all go on the train together.

It is my God-given right to heal myself with herbs and hell hath no fury like me, if they take that away from me and from others.

Bill C-51 removes our right to buy, sell and use natural health products freely to protect our own health.

On April 8th, 2008, the Canadian Minister of Health introduced Bill C-51 into the House of Commons. This Bill proposes significant changes to the current Food and Drugs Act that will have wide-ranging negative implications for Canadians.

What is Bill C-51?

Promoted as a means to protect the safety of Canadians from untested natural health products, Bill C-51 is a wide-reaching, little publicized & carefully crafted set of amendments to the federal Food & Drug Act that threatens Canadians' rights to natural health products.

Key changes include: Replacing the word "drug" with "therapeutic product" throughout the Act, giving the Canadian government broad-reaching powers to regulate the sale of all herbs, spices, vitamins, supplements & more.

C-51 would require all 'therapeutic products' to go through a costly approval process that would be financially impossible for many natural health product manufacturers. These would then be “forced†unavailable to the public. Then, only government “approved†natural health products, considered a prescription drug, would be made available to you by prescription only!

How Bill C-51 affects you:

C-51 could result in the outlawing of thousands of beneficial low risk natural health products. It would grant alarming new "enforcement" powers to federal inspectors to "protect" Canadians from “dangerous†unapproved "therapeutic agents". Products as benign as say, dandelion greens, blueberries, any plant-derived substance, bottled water or Vitamin C could become illegal to possess or distribute.

C-51 would also allow federal enforcement agents to: Raid your home or business without a warrant, seize your bank accounts, levy fines up to $5 million & jail terms up to 2 years for selling or drying herbs in your kitchen, now categorized as “controlled activityâ€, confiscate your property, then charge you storage fees.

Lawyer Shawn Buckley's discussion paper. Shawn has been involved with Health Canada for 4 years fighting for Nutritional Supplements. (Word Document)

Here's what you can do:

Make your voice heard! Write your MP, the Federal Minister of Health Tony Clement and our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. Let them know that Bill C-51 is not something that Canada needs.

Attend a Rally

Join The Toronto Rally Saturday May 10th

Educate Yourself

Go to http://www.stopc51.com

Read a legal discussion on Bill C-51

Read bill C-51 on www.parl.gc.ca

Read a discussion paper on Bill C-51 (Word Document)

Tell others about it

Talk to your local Press

Contact your local MP (Right)

Fill out the online Petition - http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/StopC51

Ask the leaders in your community to get involved

Contact your MLA

Tell your Friends

Take Action Fast

The First Reading of Bill C-51 was on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

The Second Reading was on Monday, May 5th, 2008

It appears that our Government is trying to fast track this bill before anyone has a chance to challenge it. Bills normally take months to pass not weeks.

[Gr8FuL]

thanks for posting, very intersting.

[Hux]

I will caution that while I don't necessarily support this Bill, in my job I am required to research most of them that come along and in this case, opponents of the Bill are using some of the most ridiculous, inflammatory and sweeping language in their campaign to deride this thing that I have ever seen, such as:

Bill C-51 removes our right to buy, sell and use natural health products freely to protect our own health.

and:

prescrip. for herbs and vitamins!!!

and:

It appears that our Government is trying to fast track this bill before anyone has a chance to challenge it. Bills normally take months to pass not weeks.

...which is totally misleading as it isn't even procedurally possible. No Bill can be passed without being dicussed at committee where relevant witnesses including opponents can rip it to shreds if they want.

There are a lot of nuances in the Bill and it is very complex, I encourage everyone who cares about the issue to try to take an unbiased view and examine both sides of the issue.

[CyberHippie]

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5266884912495233634&q=codex+alimentarius&ei=UW0kSNmbCIWc4gKRxLGxDA

[ollie]

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5266884912495233634&q=codex+alimentarius&ei=UW0kSNmbCIWc4gKRxLGxDA

Is this a link to Zeitgeist?

[onthejourney]

I am in fact reading the bill. It seems quite clear to me, that the intent is to only have a doctor (practitioner) deemed by the minister, to be able to prescribe a "therapuetic product". (as one point to mention)

I highly agree that in the natural health industry there does need to be some sort of regulation in regards to claims on potency and that conditions in which the product is made meets the proper sanitary standards, etc. Maybe the government should speak with those on the Canadian Association of Herbal Practitioners or maybe the Canadian Naturopathic Association or maybe the Canadian Health Food Association to get a completely separate thing in regards to the natural health industry.

However, I should still be able to get herbs and vitamins at a health food store and not have to make a doctors appt. in order to get my Vitamin C!! and possibly at a lower dosage then what I require.

My question is why this has been kept so quiet and no one seems to report these changes on tv, radio or even find some other way to let us know of the changes.

From reading the sites and things from which people are "up in arms" over this, quite frankly, I can't see what they are saying to be even possible. I can't phathom how this would be implemented and regulated without a complete revolt from the Canadian people.

So, please, if you (or anyone for that matter)can explain in laymans terms, what the outcome of these ammendments to the Food and Drug Act hope to bring about, I am all ears. But from the ammendments I am reading in cross-reference to the Act, I am seeing something sneaky, controlling and completely unjust about to happen to my rights as a living being.

[CyberHippie]

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-5266884912495233634&q=codex+alimentarius&ei=UW0kSNmbCIWc4gKRxLGxDA

Is this a link to Zeitgeist?

Hah, nope!

[onthejourney]

thanks for the video link - watching/listening to it now! great info - didn't know that codex went that far back.

It all makes me feel sick and extremely sad and very livid. I hope that everyone has not become so complacent, passive, jaded and uncaring that they will not revolt and create change necessary. I still believe in the light deep in everyone that will turn this world around. I will try hang on to that.

[onthejourney]

bump

[Hux]

I am in fact reading the bill. It seems quite clear to me, that the intent is to only have a doctor (practitioner) deemed by the minister, to be able to prescribe a "therapuetic product". (as one point to mention)

What section is that?

Maybe the government should speak with those on the Canadian Association of Herbal Practitioners or maybe the Canadian Naturopathic Association or maybe the Canadian Health Food Association to get a completely separate thing in regards to the natural health industry

That will in fact happen at (mandatory) committee hearings on the Bill in the House of Commons and Senate.

The argument that the government is trying to rush this though could also be turned around to say that by holding the vote at second reading within a month of introduction actually puts the bill before the Health Committee and thus public hearings more quickly.

not have to make a doctors appt. in order to get my Vitamin C!!

Now come on now, don't be ridiculous.

My question is why this has been kept so quiet and no one seems to report these changes on tv, radio or even find some other way to let us know of the changes.

"If it bleeds it leads" I believe is the old saying.

Believe me, I'm the last guy on the planet who would defend this government, but after reading all the hysterical form-letter emails then attending a briefing with Health Canada officials, I can assure you there is a lot of dumbing down of C-51 going on.

I'll keep you posted on what I come across...

[Freak By Night]

The headline of this thread is inaccurate too....

this will not affect me at all.

[bradm]

The headline of this thread is inaccurate too....

this will not affect me at all.

That depends on exactly which [color:green]herbs will be prescribable...

Aloha,

Brad

[slavetothegroove]

The pharmaceutical and oil companies rule the government. We barely live in a democratic society anymore. How have we become so oblivious to serious issues concerning our health and environment happening around us? It sickens me how money makes people psychotic and how those people are running our country.

[MarcO]

The headline of this thread is inaccurate too....

this will not affect me at all.

[mattm]

Someone tell me exactly what's happening with this thing - Edit: Please. From what it looks like, I see drug companies losing money to natural foods and paying doctors and government lobbyists to oust the "problem" (can we say electric car). How can I make a difference in this? If I don't even hear about something like this until now from a post on a website, how the hell am I supposed to know to get down to my whatever committee meeting they probably won't allow me into and I probably won't have a clue what they are talking about due to the not quite so dumbed down language used?

Does this affect things like soaps and shampoos or just digested things? I hate drug companies and I hate that I have to consume their chemical shit if I get sick (actually I haven't used a prescription in years).

Little Trey has a rash on his face. The doctor told us to get some cream that after reading the tube we find it's an anti-fungal cream for use on adult feet, just loaded with steroids and shit. Yeah, I want that on my little guys cheeks right by his mouth. So we got a cream from the local health food store downtown which doesn't contain steroids and shit and is made of nice natural ingredients. Not sure if it will work but man, it's better than the drug company shit. Also, he has very sensitive skin so we use more natural products on him to clean him and such to avoid other rashes and it would be terrible to force the rashes on him...

So, will this bill stop me from being able to get things like this? Will I have to go to a doctor and get whatever the drug companies payed him to hawk to me even though it's full of crap?

Sorry, read the bill or not I have a strong feeling that this will be the result and it angers me.

Also, which bill c-51 is it? Do a search at the parliament website and you'll see there are several. Makes it easy as hell to find the info - NOT, hehehe, watched waynes world a while ago.

Edited May 9, 2008 by Guest

[SaggyBalls]

Do you like your greens and vitamins?

The Canadian government, afraid of the public reaction once people find out what they are trying to pull, is currently fast-tracking a Bill which threatens to strip you of your rights to access a wide range of natural health products. If it passes, and you buy/sell/share/collect/dry/eat/feed to your family any of the restricted stuff, you become a criminal subject to fines 1000X bigger than those currently in effect.

Please take action to protect your current right to use the foods, herbs, supplements, and therapies:

1. visit: http://www.stopc51.com and read Bill C-51 and/or the analysis

to form your own opinion about whether this law is good for you

or for your country

2. sign this petition and pass the word to your friends, family, anyone

who cares

3. write, phone, email your MP

4. http://www.stopc51.com/c51/what_you_can_do.asp

(NaturalNews) A new law being pushed in Canada by Big Pharma seeks to outlaw up to 60 percent of natural health products currently sold in Canada, even while criminalizing parents who give herbs or supplements to their children. The law, known as C-51, was introduced by the Canadian Minister of Health on April 8th, 2008, and it proposes sweeping changes to Canada's Food and Drugs Act that could have devastating consequences on the health products industry.

Among the changes proposed by the bill are radical alterations to key terminology, including replacing the word "drug" with "therapeutic product" throughout the Act, thereby giving the Canadian government broad-reaching powers to regulate the sale of all herbs, vitamins, supplements and other items. With this single language change, anything that is "therapeutic" automatically falls under the Food and Drug Act. This would include bottled water, blueberries, dandelion greens and essentially all plant-derived substances.

The Act also changes the definition of the word "sell" to include anyone who gives such therapeutic products to someone else. So a mother giving an herb to her child, under the proposed new language, could be arrested for engaging in the sale of unregulated, unapproved "therapeutic substances." Learn about more of these freedom-squashing changes to the law at the Stop51.com website:http://www.stopc51.com

--------

New enforcement powers allow Canadian government to seize your home or business

At the same time that C-51 is outlawing herbs, supplements and vitamins, it would grant alarming new "enforcement" powers to the (thugs) enforcement agents who claim to be "protecting" the public from dangerous unapproved "therapeutic agents" like, say, dandelion greens. As explained on the www.Educate-Yourself.org website ((http://educate-yourself.org/cn/canadian...), the C-51 law would allow the Canadian government's thugs enforcement agents to:

%u2022 Raid your home or business without a warrant

%u2022 Seize your bank accounts

%u2022 Levy fines up to $5 million and a jail terms up to 2 years for merely selling an herb

%u2022 Confiscate your property, then charge you storage fees for the expense involved in storing all the products they stole from you

C-51 would even criminalize the simple drying of herbs in your kitchen to be used in an herbal product, by the way. That would now be categorized as a "controlled activity," and anyone caught engaging in such "controlled activities" would be arrested, fined and potentially jailed. Other "controlled activities" include labeling bottles, harvesting plants on a farm, collecting herbs from your back yard, or even testing herbal products on yourself! (Yes, virtually every activity involving herbs or supplements would be criminalized...)

There's more, too. C-51 is the Canadian government's "final solution" for the health products industry. It's a desperate effort to destroy this industry that's threatening the profits and viability of conventional medicine. Natural medicine works so well -- and is becoming so widely used -- that both the Canadian and American governments have decided to "nuke" the industries by passing new laws that effectively criminalize anyone selling such products. They simply cannot tolerate allowing consumers to have continued access to natural products. To do so will ultimately spell the destruction of Big Pharma and the outdated, corrupt and criminally-operated pharmaceutical industry that these criminally-operated governments are trying to protect.

[slavetothegroove]

How the hell can they make blueberries prescription, the grow wildly everywhere.

I will not be one happy camper if they take my blueberries away.

[onthejourney]

The blueberries thing is slightly ridiculous and dumbed down. In that instance, extract is taken from blueberries and/or straight blueberries are used in some health products for their high antioxidant levels.

As for the cream, at one point the bill mentions "therapeutic products and cosmetics" which I would think (could be wrong) would apply to the cream which you are using on your son.

As for those that say this doesn't apply to them, well either I feel bad that you have not experienced the wonder of natural medicine, or I find it hard to believe that you have never taken a Vitamin C in your life. Or maybe your grandma takes calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D combo so that if she falls, her bones don't break. It could affect you in more ways than you know. But who knows I guess, eh.

Hux: Page 6 (of Bill) under "practioner" I quote ""practioner" means an individual who is authorized under the law of a province to prescribe or dispense prescription therapeutic products"

Something interesting I just learned...

apparently (may or may not be true--don't crucify me!) Tony Clement (the Health Minister) has a 25% stake in a major pharma company!!! surprise.

Edited May 9, 2008 by Guest

[Guest Low Roller]

Essentially the entire health food industry is largely unregulated and products go completely unchecked. It's in the best interest of Joe Consumer that products have some sort of verification process before Joe 1) wastes money 2) has an adverse effect from the "drug".

My girlfriend recently did her master's thesis in Pharmacy on the efficacy of the herbal tea Mialgro de la Selva which claims to cure diabetes if used regularly. Her lab results showed that the tea was total bs, and didn't actually aid in any way. The product was a sham.

It's easy to take the conspiracy theory viewpoint since society in general is so jaded and cynical, but I think that the government is actually doing the right thing in trying to introduce some sort of regulations.

[onthejourney]

Like I said, I see the need in the industry for better regulation on claims, potentcy, manufacturing and efficacy. There are "bad guys" in every lot. But taking the right completely away is not the answer and leaving it to those untrained to make the decisions is not a good idea either.

Either way, that is one tea(herb) that proved not to cure diabetes. Guess what, either does diabetes medication from the pharmacuetical companies - it manages it, often with side effects.

There are many herbs and vitamins that also help to manage diabetes, with no side effects. Which would you choose.

Although I would love to see all the info on that study -- just saying it doesn't work doesn't say what sort of trials were done, on who, what time, what age, was diet changed or not etc. There are so many variables.

Of course in all of this, not every herb is for everybody. There are definitely abuses going on where someone reads something, goes out and buys a product without knowing their bodies needs - we are all different. That is why there are trained naturopaths, herbalists, traditional chinese medical doctors, holistic nutritionists and the like. People need to be educated and a good practitioner (of the natural medicine kind) will provide their client the education, the knowledge, and the means for which the client will heal themselves.

[MoMack]

To add to Low Roller, the other reason it needs to be verified and regulated is because people don't consider what impact the "health food" drugs etc. can have on other prescriptions. It can be bad and because the health foods stuff is off the shelf it provides a false sense of security.

I don't know about the Bill, but practitioners as defined above could quite easily be a self-regulated profession like lawyers and doctors but licenced in naturopathy or the like.

ps. doesn't St. John's Wart make "the pill" not work. And shouldn't young woman who want to take it be forced to get a prescription from someone that can say "don't take this if you're taking the pill, it'll mean you're not protected."

If thats what the Bill is for, then it makes sense.

As for the baby cream with seteroids. The goal then becomes to a) find a better doctor that will respect your alternative/healthy wishes and to push all doctors in this direction while at the same time making other regulated professionals available.

[bradm]

Either way, that is one tea(herb) that proved not to cure diabetes. Guess what, either does diabetes medication from the pharmacuetical companies - it manages it, often with side effects.

Guess what? No (regulated) pharmaceutical company that makes diabetes medication claims their products cure diabetes. They also know (and state) what the side effects are.

There are many herbs and vitamins that also help to manage diabetes, with no side effects. Which would you choose.

I choose (not "would choose", choose) the ones that have been clinically proven to be safe and effective.

Aloha,

Brad

[ollie]

I choose (not "would choose", choose) the ones that have been clinically proven to be safe and effective.

Me too (prescription drugs in general). I find this prevalent fear of medicine stunning.

[Guest Low Roller]

I think it's more of a fear of "The Machine" than a fear of medicine.

[mattm]

Regulations: Section 30.(1)(h)respecting(iv): the use of a substance as an ingredient in a food, therapeutic product or cosmetic;

Section 30.(1)(k) respecting the manufacturing, collecting, processing, preparation, preserving, storing, conveying or testing of foods, therapeutic products or cosmetics;

hmmmmm

Also, the word that is being used, "dumb" is rather an insult. Something on the lines of "mal-informed" would be more appropriate or perhaps "exaggerated" or something on those lines. It doesn't feel good to be called dumb.

I don't in any way trust the pharma companies and I don't care how many tests they've done, they want to feed us chemicals, so much so that we are addicted to them. They pay doctors to dish out their particular chemicals. You have kids in grade 3 being hopped up on ritalin and stuff because they are a bit hyperactive and teachers are too lazy to deal with it or administrations are too cheap to deal with it.

Also, placebo, known to work wonders even though it's complete bs...

It is very, definitely a fear of the machine and what power that machine has. That machine can delegate an "inspector" who can enter your home, release personal info without your permission, take lots of stuff, copy your info, use your computer, etc, etc (section 9)

PS: my sections might be wrong as I am "dumb"

Edit: I do agree, however, that any sort of medicine needs to be regulated, I'm just worried about home remedies and small things like that being hit.

Edited May 9, 2008 by Guest