Podcast 89 – ACTION REQUIRED! Due in 5 minutes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:45 — 31.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Podcast Index | TuneIn | Youtube Music | RSS

 

 

IN THIS PODCAST, WE COVER:

 

01:17   Americans for Homeopathy Choice

02:49   Meetings with the FDA

09:54    Draft Guidance

32:08    Donations to Americans for Homeopathy Choice

 

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

Americans for Homeopathy Choice (homeopathychoice.org)

Hyland’s, Boiron, Hahnemann, Washington, OHM

 

 

Kate:  This is the Practical Homeopathy® Podcast Episode Number 89 with Joette Calabrese.

 

 

Joette:  Hi, folks. Today, we're doing something a little different than we have done in the past. I'm going to be interviewing Paola Brown. She's going to tell us all about her organization. You may already know about it. If you don't, I want you to know about it.

 

We are very involved with Paola’s organization on many different levels. I want you to be involved right along with me. You don't have to do a lot of work. You just have to be even just one toe into the water in getting involved with this wonderful organization.

 

Paola, tell us about your organization. Paola Brown, here you go, Sweetie.    

 

Paola:  Thank you. Americans for Homeopathy Choice.

 

I just thought I'd start right from the get-go and tell them what they can do. They can go to homeopathychoice.org. Right now, we are seeking 100,000 comments to go into the FDA docket. I checked today, it's January 5^th, and there was about 25,000 comments in there. So, we're needing this to really pick up. The deadline is January 23^rd. So, if you go to homeopathychoice.org, right on the homepage…

 

Joette:  Homeopathychoice.org. We'll have this listed down below for you folks to click into.

 

Paola:  Yes. We have software that if you're in the US, that makes it super easy for you. Just click, click, click, and it goes straight to the FDA.

 

If you're international people, you can also comment. We have a copy-and-paste that makes it super easy.

 

Right from the get-go, pause this podcast, run over there, and get that done. But we can talk about the background of the issues, too, of course. 

 

Joette:  I always tell folks, I've written many times to the FDA and other government bodies in my adult life, and I find that if it's short, and it's concise, and it's not just an opinion, but perhaps a short story (how Belladonna helped your child with pain and ear infection or how Chamomilla has helped your teenage daughter, and you need to have this medicine available, and you need all your homeopathic medicines available), how your doctor uses it, or how your practitioner uses it, and give examples — but no anger! No sarcasm. Don't do that. You will just turn them off.

 

You want them to actually read these and say, “Wow, this is interesting. Look at this person's arthritis improve by using Rhus tox and Symphytum,” or something like that. We want them to know that we are real people out there. We're not oddballs. We simply decided to use homeopathy often instead of drugs — but sometimes alongside drugs as well.

 

We're not anti-medicine. We are pro-medicine. But we're also very much pro-homeopathy. It's very important that they understand that there's a large body of citizens in the U.S. and elsewhere who are very interested in keeping homeopathy alive. Because indeed, Paola, it is under threat, isn't it?

 

Paola:  It is. It really is under threat. In the United States, our government works better when we can speak up and communicate and help our officials do the right thing. If we don't get involved, I think that's how overreach happens. That's how things slip away from us. It's such an important role as a citizen or as a resident of this country. You don't have to be a citizen, obviously, because the international people can comment, but as a resident of this country to speak up and to help them understand your perspective, because they don't know it.

 

I remember at our very first FDA meeting, we brought our homeopathy kits, me and the moms.

 

Joette:  FDA meeting, meaning you went to DC. Now, you live in Budapest.

 

Paola:  Right. Now, I live in Budapest.

 

Joette:  You flew from Budapest to DC to meet with the FDA. That's the kind of commitment Paola and her group have in trying to keep homeopathy safe because … let me just say parenthetically that, what happens in the United States happens then throughout the world. We are leaders in many, many ways, even in, believe it or not, in homeopathy. That has switched recently. It used to be Europe was number one. Now, the US has become number one in users of homeopathy.

 

Okay, so you went to the FDA, and you brought a kit.

 

Paola:  Yes. We passed it across the table. That was our very first meeting, and the person who was really heavily involved in writing the draft guidance was in that meeting. I don't think that person had ever seen a homeopathic remedy in her life!

 

You're trying to break these barriers with these agencies because they're there; they're doing their job, or they're trying to do their job, or whatever it is that they're doing. They're doing what they're doing. Your job is to help familiarize them with what is happening and to understand the people behind this.

 

There are intricacies to every issue. You need to help them understand the intricacies of the homeopathy issue. It’s like if you put a face, and you make it real to them, it really helps. It really does. I have to say, Joette, we have made phenomenal progress with the FDA.

 

Joette:  Over what period of time? Tell me how long you've been doing this, Paola.

 

Paola:  It’s been about two years. It's been about two years of, honestly, pulling 60 hours a week, just about every week for two years.

 

Joette:  Wait a minute. Let me also say, you not only live in Budapest, but you homeschool your children, three of them. It's not as though you have a lot of time on your hands.

 

Paola:  That’s right, very, very busy. It's actually been a blessing living overseas because I can spend my mornings homeschooling them, and then everyone's sleeping in the US, then I can work until 10 o'clock at night and get more stuff done.

 

But this is so important to us. I was just telling your husband before you came, Joette, that my daughter has had a tummy bug, and this particular virus is pretty yucky. Kids are like rolling in pretty acute pain and vomiting.

 

It's pretty severe. I tried a couple of different remedies. Actually, I switched to Chamomilla, which is not typical, right? You think of a colicky baby, so we use Chamomilla. Within three minutes, this little girl that's been rolling in pain … she was beating her pillow, Joette, punching her pillow, “It hurts, it hurts,” punching it! Within three minutes, she sits up and goes, “Hey, you want to play a card game? Want to play Go Fish?”

 

Joette:  That’s the way homeopathy works sometimes. It's not every time. But when you hit it right, especially in an acute situation when it's quite extreme, that's how quickly it can act.

 

Paola:  Yes. It's these little moments where I just think, “We're doing the right thing.”

 

I really am grateful for generations that have gone by that have protected our freedoms and done different things that have really impacted us and in a positive way for today. I just think about this is our generation’s fight — your generation, Joette, my generation. We're in it together, right? This is what we have to do to protect our freedoms. I really think we're going to be successful.

 

Now, the battle is serious. There's a lot that's going on. But that is why we need you guys to step up and comment and take this seriously. The deadline is January 23^rd. Go to homeopathychoice.org. You can very quickly submit a comment to FDA.

 

Now, FDA doesn't really care so much about numbers. They care about quality comments. Our comment that you can copy and paste or edit and add your own experience to it is there for you.

 

But one of the reasons we really like volume is because it gets Congress' attention. We can go to them. That really made an impact last time, because last time, our goal was 20,000 (25,000. I can't remember. I’m not great with numbers.) But that catches Congress' attention. It's not just FDA that we're trying to show this to. We're showing Congress this, and we have good relationships on Capitol Hill that we are continuing to develop. It's really important to get those numbers up.

 

Joette:  There's no reason why you can't write a comment, and then have your husband write a comment, and then have your teenage daughter or son write comments, so that it can be as many people in your family as possible. If you're a homeschooling mom, make this an important aspect of your civil duty class.

 

Kate:  That’s right.

 

Joette:  You can also take this to your church and ask your church mates, your school mates, your neighbors, your friends. This is very important, and it takes so little. Everything is right there at your keyboard — right at your fingertips.

 

Paola:  Have everyone in your household, regardless of age … you said teenagers, but you don't have to be a teenager. I mean, there’s no, like … you don't have to be a voting …  

 

Joette:  That's right. That's right. They could be a seven-year old. That's a good way to teach your child.

 

Paola:  Exactly. Everyone, regardless of age, should be commenting. That's right, having your friends at church.

 

The way you can talk to them about this is, “This is about our freedom to choose whatever medicine that we want. This is a federally recognized form of medicine. It’s backed by thousands of research, papers, studies, and clinical trials. It is something that you want to have the option to choose, if you ever need it.”

 

Joette:  Yes. Paola, tell us why the FDA is doing this. What are your suspicions or what do you know for sure? Give us a little background.

 

Paola:  Well, there are probably five different ways I can answer that question correctly.

 

The FDA says homeopathy … it's been over a decade that they've done anything to homeopathy — it’s actually been longer than that. They were revisiting and trying to look at homeopathy and see what they can do to update the way it's treated or whatever.

 

They had meetings in 2015. Then they came out with this draft guidance. What was really concerning to us is that everything that was presented in those meetings … this draft guidance — it is not a promulgation of the views that were proposed in those meetings in 2015! That's the first thing.

 

But what's really concerning about this guidance is that it takes homeopathy, and the FDA says that they're going to treat it as if it's a new drug.

 

There's a little history lesson I can give …

 

Joette:  You mean each homeopathic medicine? Are you talking about single medicines or combination medicines?

 

Paola:  Just homeopathy will now be treated as a new drug. There's an interesting history about the new drug process that I think helps us understand. I'd love to give you the little history lesson, if you're up for it.

 

Joette:  Please.

 

Paola:  Back in the 50s, and you might remember this … or I don't know.

 

Joette:  I was a young child in the 50s.

 

Paola:  That's right.

 

Joette:  I don't have that much memory.

 

Paola:  Well, you might know because your friends might … this is the generation that their mothers were taking this drug called thalidomide.

 

Joette:  Oh, I certainly know all about thalidomide.  

 

Paola:  Yeah, and it was causing deformities. You remember it because maybe you have friends or people who had deformities because …

 

Joette:  I know someone who was deformed as a result of thalidomide.

 

Paola:  Exactly. What happened is thalidomide hit the market. All these babies were getting deformed. FDA said, “You know what? We need to control these drugs better. We need to make sure that their benefits outweigh the risks for their indications.”

 

They did this thing called a new drug amendment and a new drug application.

 

Now, before a drug can hit the market, they need to do all this technical testing and whatever-whatever to make sure it's “safe.” Now, we know that drugs get on the market that aren't safe, but that process is supposed to help minimize these unsafe drugs.

 

That amendment, when it came out, it specifically says anything that predates this amendment doesn't apply.

 

Joette:  Hold on a second, Paola. There's another drug, Darvon, interestingly, hadn't been reviewed. It was a very old drug. I think I have this story correct; it's been a while since I've read about it. It had been on the market since, I'm going to say, the 40s and 50s.

 

Paola:  Interesting.

 

Joette:  They just took it off the market because there had been so many cardiac arrests after the use of Darvon, even in small amounts. Now, you can't find Darvon any longer. Darvocet-N was one of them. Darvon was another. But it was on the market for decades, more than half a century, when I think about it. They just took it off the market. I'm going to take a guess. I really should know my figures a little bit better and my history a little bit better. But I'm going to say it's been about five years.

 

But meanwhile, who didn't take Darvon? I took Darvon as a teenager, anytime you had any pain. That was the pain reliever du jour for decades. Now, it's off the market. They'll probably be doing the same thing with the statin drugs forthcoming. Those will soon be off the market.

 

Paola:  Interesting. Well, yes, right.

 

Joette:  After having been on the market for, again, decades. So, it's certainly not foolproof — this method.

 

Paola:  That’s right, exactly. This method is meant to minimize that, but absolutely, it's a concern.

 

And so, the FDA said everything that predates these new drug amendments, they don't apply. Like aspirin has been around for a long time, and it predates this new drug amendment, and they have a whole analgesic section.

 

This is like a big, legal lasagna. But basically, the new drug amendments make new drugs coming out on the market go through a new drug application that costs millions of dollars per component of a drug — very expensive, and it's there intended to protect the consumer.

 

Well, interestingly, FDA, for all of these years as a matter of policy — so meaning this is their policy and how they treated homeopathy — was that they have always treated homeopathy as something that is unique and different:

 

1. A) It predates the new drug amendment
2. B) We even have them on the Federal Register. The FDA once said the Commissioner of FDA is going to defer (this is actually during the over-the-counter drug review process of homeopathy) until a later date. Basically, because they knew that it was unique and different. They said, “Because of the uniqueness of homeopathy.”

 

FDA had this new drug amendment come out. All these thalidomide babies were coming out, so they changed things up. It specifically says that anything that predates is exempt. FDA treated homeopathy … we have this pattern where FDA has treated homeopathy as different.

 

Then 2017 comes. And FDA says — and I'm going to quote this, this is tricky, this is a double negative statement, it’s very confusing, but it's one of the most important statements — it says, “Absent a determination that homeopathy is not a new drug, we're going to treat it like it's a new drug.”

 

What they're saying is nobody’s actually … like Congress, no court … has actually come out and said homeopathy is not a new drug.

 

Joette:  So, because the statement is not solidified, it's not declared by any particular body — legislative body — that means it must not be?

 

Paola:  Well, they're going to say, “That means we get to treat it like a new drug.”

 

What does that mean? That means that every single homeopathic medicine is being sold on the market technically illegal because it hasn't gone through a new drug application.

 

Do you think a new drug that comes out on the market can just be sold out there without going through the new drug application? Absolutely not.

 

Well, what they're saying is homeopathy hasn't gone through this, so it's technically illegal, and it gives the FDA the authority to pull it off the market whenever they want!!

 

Now, that is just their treatment. That is their interpretation of the law — even though the law says that pre-new drug amendments don't apply.

 

So, it’s kind of a legal mess. That is why we have an attorney and a legal team. Our position is, okay … you admit (FDA admits) absent a determination that homeopathy is not a new drug. That’s them saying nothing's been determined. But you don't get to pick and suddenly say, “We're going to treat it like it is!”

 

Does that make sense?

 

Joette:  Yes. So, what's behind this, Paola? Come on. This just doesn’t seem … this seems very irregular. You know?

 

Paola:  I don't know what's behind it. We know that Big Pharma is big and expensive, and you know that they have influence even in just the culture, right — what can be said on the news; what is considered appropriate. We know that they have a big influence.

 

But I don't know. I really don't know what is behind this. I don't know if it's just a big agency, and it's hard for big agencies to get something that is finite in detail like homeopathy and treat it like it deserves.

 

It's just like a big elephant sometimes that comes in and tries to fix things, and they make more of a mess than they needed to. I don't know what's behind this. I think that's the million-dollar question.

 

But I can say that there's been no deaths or disabilities attributed to homeopathy in over 200 years. I can say that. I can say that this is the safest category of drug. I said this to the FDA. “This is the safest category of drug you guys regulate. Not only that, you guys have these big issues. You have this antibiotic crisis; you have this opioid crisis. And homeopathy can help with that.”

 

Our urging to them is slow down, and let's get this right.

 

Now, I can’t say there have been different recalls, different problems with different homeopathic products, and we don't need to name them specifically. But, you know, it happens. So, what my legal team and I did together with my entire team, we went through one by one and analyzed every single one of those recalls. Guess what, Joette, guess what we found?

 

Joette:  I know what you found but go ahead and tell everyone.

 

Paola:  Well, we found two issues:

 

It was either improperly manufactured, so perhaps there was a contamination issue or something.

 

Or it was improperly labeled. The label “homoeopathy” should have never been on that bottle because the ingredients weren't in the HPUS, or they weren’t homeopathic!

 

Joette:  Well, if you go online, you'll find products here and there that call themselves homeopathic. Then you read the ingredients, and there's nothing homeopathic about it at all.

 

Paola:  That’s right.

 

Joette:  It doesn't show any potencies. They’re herbs. They think … people still believe … that the word “holistic” and “homeopathy” are synonymous. They're absolutely not.

 

Paola:  That's right, which is crazy for a drug …

 

Joette:  Including manufacturers, including marketers. Many, many people still get that confused, which is a travesty.

 

Paola:  I've seen CBD oil labeled as homeopathic, and it was, like, “CBD oil, crude substance CBD oil.”

 

So, what we said to the FDA, I said, “Look, to the extent that there have been problems, we think we should have proper manufacturing. We support you guys in that. These recalls that you've done (when I'm showing them the recalls), we support this because this is improper manufacturing; this is bad labeling; this is improper manufacturing; this is bad labeling.  We support that!”  I said, “But the thing is this is not an issue with homeopathy. Labeling and manufacturing is generic to pharmaceuticals. This is not an issue with homeopathic medicine, and you guys have created the guidance on homeopathic medicine.”

 

Joette:  It’s sweeping! It's a sweeping .. what's the word … a sweeping finger pointed at an entire industry — an entire medicine — when it should be more specific.

 

Paola:  That's exactly it! That's exactly right. So, I've actually joked — not joked, but you know, “joked” — about the fact that FDA has treated homeopathy very allopathically. They're looking at the symptom, and the “symptom” to them is homeopathy.

 

I’m like, “Guys, if you get to the root of the problem, the root of the problem which we have analyzed carefully is two-fold: labeling and manufacturing. Let's get to the root of the problem, and all of this is going to go away.”

 

Not one single problem that we have identified has come up as an issue with an actually properly prepared, properly labeled homeopathic product has caused an issue. Never have we seen that!

 

Joette:  How was that received, Paola?

 

Paola:  Look, the FDA is listening to us. The attention they have given and continue to give us is like no other in the homeopathy community, as far as I know. We met with the person right beneath the Commissioner. She's the top drug regulator in the U.S., really one of the most powerful people in the world, if you consider the Food and Drug Administration one of the most powerful administrations in one of the most powerful countries in the world.

 

We talk to this person, responds to emails, asks questions, made a phone call once. So, we have a level of communication that shows a genuine interest. I really think that they are listening.

 

Now, they reissued this draft guidance. This is really interesting, Joette. They created a draft guidance in 2017. They released it. We did what we did. We got those comments in there. We did all that we did that the past two years. We worked, we worked, and we worked. Then suddenly, what we were expecting is for them to issue a final version of that guidance.

 

We have spoken to different people in my team, that have experience in the government. They say, “Usually, when an agency releases a draft guidance, the next thing they do is they make it final. They will sometimes revise it to match the stuff that you said. But the next move they always make is publish the final.” Very rarely — it's uncommon — for them to issue a second draft like, “Oh, here's my revised draft. Here's a second draft.” They did that. 

 

Joette:  They were influenced.

 

Paola:  They were influenced. I was really excited to read it. Then I was promptly really disappointed when I read it.

 

Joette:  Because the second draft was also concerning.

 

Paola:  It didn't change many of the big issues we had. They did add, for example, a definition about homeopathy. That was one issue I took with the first draft. I said, “Hey, you don't even define what homeopathy is. How do we even know … because people are going to read this? They're not even going to know what you're talking about! You need to at least define it.”  

 

Joette:  Do your homework before you draft something that's going to affect millions and millions of people.

 

Paola:  I've met these people. We have to remember that we're talking to people, as well as we're talking to a giant industry. I really think that there are people in that room that I've met with — I'm not saying every single one — but the people that I've met with seem to be trying to do the right thing.

 

But again, it goes right back to we need to step up, make our voices heard, communicate, and make sure that they do their job better than they would without us.

 

The second draft, okay, there was a definition in there. I didn't necessarily love the definition, but I can see an effort. But again, that statement about treating homeopathy as a new drug when they acknowledge that it is not a new drug. They say absent a determination that it's not, we're going to treat it that it is. They acknowledge that homeopathy has never been treated as a new drug. It's a total 180 shift on how the industry treats homeopathy. That's what we're going to take issue with.

 

Listen, we live in a country where there are three branches of the government, right? You have the judicial branch, the executive branch, and the congressional branch. We have been working the congressional branch from the beginning, and that's Congress, that's our Senate, and the House, right?

 

Then on the other side, FDA is part of the executive branch. Trump appoints the Commissioner of the FDA. That's an executive branch. We're working with the executive branch.

 

But guess what? We have three branches of the government here, and I, as President of Americans for Homeopathy Choice, am willing to exercise our rights in the third branch of the government. That's lawsuit to the FDA, if we have to.  

 

Joette:  That will require many people making donations, and it's worth every penny. It's worth every penny.

 

Paola:  It really is. Right now, the way that we're going with the FDA, I think that the conversations are again very positive. They're listening.

 

Joette:  Good. Let's stay with them. Put our eggs into that basket, but be willing to step out of that basket and go to the next, if needed.

 

Paola:  That’s exactly it. That’s right.

 

Joette:  No, homeopathy is part of the national health systems of a number of countries.

 

Paola:  That's right.

 

Joette:  Brazil — and that's where you're from; it's where you grew up — homeopathy was ubiquitous. Certainly India, that is part of their national health system. But I also understand, well, Switzerland, I believe Germany, Mexico, Chile, Pakistan. These are places where it is part of their national health system. Even Cuba, believe it or not, has used — I don't believe it's part of their national health system — but it has been used by their government to treat leptospirosis. If anyone's interested in reading about that particular event, I've written articles about leptospirosis in Cuba. If you want to read up on that and explain this to your neighbors before they start writing their letters to the FDA.

 

Paola:  I just think homeopathy in the U.S. is a federally recognized drug. It is in the … 

 

Joette:  Since 1940s.

 

Paola:  1930-something.

 

Joette:  1930s, yes, Royal Samuel Copeland, who was a senator in New York State, helped develop the FDA to protect homeopathy. That was the original intent was to protect and regulate homeopathy as well as other drugs. Now, that FDA — that was designed specifically by him and others — is now going against our needs, our family needs, so we do need to step up.  

 

Paola:  One of the other things that FDA has said to us is they say, “Most of these medicines will remain available.”

 

Joette:  We don't want most. We want all. When your child is sick, you don't want to be able to only use those that are lovely like Calc carb and Chamomilla like what you use, we want also those that someone might consider toxic — but of course it is not once it's made into a homeopathic medicine diluted 200 times to the 100^th power — such as Nux vomica or Arsenicum album or Veratrum album or Hyoscyamus or Lachesis. We need all of these homeopathic medicines. We want access to all of them.

 

Here's something else that I want to ask you, Paola, because many folks believe that, “Oh, well, if it happens, I can just go to Canada, or I can order from India, or I can order from England.” What's your take on that? I have my way of thinking about it.

 

Paola:  Well, FDA is in the customs office. Customs is what inspects everything coming across the border, and the FDA has an office within customs that if anything FDA-related comes through, they can talk about that. So, they are at the border. We've already seen things being confiscated.

 

But I have to say I hate hearing that talk, Joette.  I hate hearing talk about, “Well, I’ll just order from overseas.”

Joette:  That’s right. I do, too!

 

Paola:  I understand. I understand, because trust me, when this draft guidance came out, the first thing I did is order a pile of remedies.

 

Joette:  Yes. I urge everyone to do that.

 

Paola:  Right. You should have remedies …

 

Joette:  From American homeopathic pharmacies, and I've talked about them many times. Let me just say this parenthetically, Paola, such as Hyland’s, Boiron, Hahnemann, Washington, OHM. These are our good pharmacies in the U.S. Don't buy outside.

 

We need to protect these pharmacies. They are our American pharmacies. It's important that we protect them by purchasing from them with our dollars because if they go to the wayside, so do we.

 

Paola:  There are all these other things that people are doing besides talking about, “Well, I’ll just order it from overseas.” I understand that. I did the same thing.

 

Joette:  But as a last resort. If this comes to …

 

Paola:  Yes. But the thing is we are not there yet.

 

Joette:  No, we're not.

 

Paola:  I need the energy and the time going towards supporting these efforts because we need everybody to step up and comment, consider donating to homeopathychoice.org. We have a donation page there. Just step up and support us!

 

Because here we are fighting tooth and nail, and then we'll see people say, “Well, can we order? If this happens, can we do this?”

 

I’m like, “No, no, no. Don't move on. Stay here in the present! This is the fight! Stay here! Throw in with us and support us!”

 

But I understand. We do need to be prepared. We need to have our plans and whatever. We live in Budapest right now, but we have a homestead in Texas. Trust me, zombie apocalypse comes, I welcome it. We're ready to go. So, I'm all about preparedness, and I understand that mindset.

 

Joette:  Buy your remedies now! Buy as many as possible that will support the pharmacies — our American pharmacies — as much as you possibly can. Every time you have a few extra dollars, get on, go to Amazon, order them there, order directly from these pharmacies, and have back stock.

 

Paola:  You know what, Joette? I would say order directly from the pharmacies because I have seen more than once, there are different distributors on Amazon.

 

Joette:  Yes, you're right. You do have to be careful. You're right. The reason that I like Amazon is because it's usually next-day shipping. But you’re right. You have to be careful because there are questionable pharmacies. That's why I say buy from these particular companies.

 

Paola:  I’ve had two incidents where a very reputable brand of homeopathy, I ordered it, and I peeled the sticker back, and it says Arsenicum, and underneath it, it was Allium cepa. Yes.

 

Don't order from Amazon. Order directly from these guys.

 

Joette:  Oh, really? Well, that’s very interesting.

 

Paola:  Yes, not even the pharmacy, but the person who's putting it in the box or whatever. I don't know if you know about that. You probably haven’t seen that.

 

Joette:  No, I did not know that. I’m glad you brought that up, Paola. Thank you. All right. Let's change that. Nix what I just said about Amazon! Go directly to the pharmacies.

 

Paola:  Yes, there you go. I think, yes, because people don't realize that. In a pinch, go ahead, use Amazon — go for it. But I agree, except for we don't get Amazon here. And I miss it dearly for all the other stuff Amazon delivers.

 

Anyways, this is a critical time. I think FDA is trying to reinterpret the way they've interpreted the law for homeopathy for a long time. It's a total 180-degree shift, and we need to hold them accountable to that.

 

Joette:  Yes, we do. This is where I always tell people, don't put your money into a latte from Starbucks. Don't put your money into a new pair of shoes. Fix up the old ones; get them resoled; clean them all up. And spend your money on homeopathy — on owning your remedies, on your personal education, on investing in your family's well being, and getting involved in an organization such as this.

 

Now, are there other organizations, Paola, or are you “the one?”

 

Paola:  Well, we are the only homeopathy organization in the U.S. whose focus is just advocacy.

 

We have wonderful organizations in the U.S. There's the National Center for Homeopathy, the American Institute of Homeopathy, the North American Society of Homeopaths. There are so many great, great organizations. But they have different approaches. The AIH serves medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, those guys. NASH is the professional organization for the professionals of homeopathy. They all have different things. We're the only one that just focuses on just advocacy. I think that's pretty important.

 

What's really, really nice is that the homeopathy community is behind our efforts. Because let me tell you, two years ago when we showed up, we were like the new kid on the block. Nobody knew exactly what to do with us — to trust us. “How serious are they? Are they going to be a flash in the pan?”

 

But two years down the line, we've gained a lot of support momentum. We actually have on our website this joint statement, Joette, that we've released. Over 15 leading homeopathy organizations in the U.S. signed on to our statement supporting what we're doing.

 

We've really come a long way to unify the homeopathy community, a very, very important thing. That's what we're doing.

 

Joette:  Paola, this has been great. Thank you so much. It doesn't mean we're finished. This is an ongoing conversation, and I'd like to see us talk about it further.

 

Donations are very important. Paola, tell us how we can donate.

 

Paola:  You go to homeopathychoice.org. Right there on the menu, you'll see our Donate button. You can actually join our Bear Pack. That's someone who donates $25 or more a month to our organization.

 

Joette:  Bear Pack meaning “mama bear?”

 

Paola:  Yes, mama bear. There are papa bears. There are people who aren't parents, too, people but to animals or auntie bears. Whatever you are in life, we treat homeopathy as if it's our own child. We want to protect it as if it's our own child.

 

That's where the Bear Pack comes in. That's $25 or more a month. There are all kinds of little perks we give you. Every time we have a chance to give you some love, we do that.

 

Then if you're just in a position to do a one-time donation, that's fine, too. We give you all those options on our website.

 

Those are the two things you should go to our website for is definitely comment. That's the free thing to do. That will make you feel great. You did the right thing. Make sure everyone in your household signs regardless of age, and then also consider donating.

 

Joette:  Absolutely. We want Swiss Army Knife preparedness. This is part of one of those actions. Know your medicines, own your medicines, and protect your medicines. This is what we, as mothers, grandmothers, and others, need to be very involved in in 2020.

 

Paola:  Guys, the deadline is January 23^th. That's like in five minutes. We really need you, guys.   ( A 60-day extension has been granted.  We still need you to send an email or two to your State Legislator(s))

 

Joette:  You do it today. Do it today.

 

Happy New Year, everyone. Let's get this changed!

 

 

Joette:  As I hope you know by now, on my blog, podcasts and Facebook Live, I offer as many protocols for simple conditions as I can — for free, without affiliates or advertising. But let me be clear. When it comes to more complex conditions, it’s key that you learn how to use these medicines properly. I want you to be well-trained. So, I save discussions of the more involved methods for my courses in which I walk students through each method with step-by-step training.

 

In these podcasts, I focus on those students of mine who have already tunneled in and learned how to take care of themselves, family, friends, and pets, and even livestock using homeopathic medicine. Many of these students began their education by participating in one of my Gateway to Homeopathy study groups. And now, after taking one or more of my courses, they’re well-trained to use my specific brand of homeopathy. I hope listening to this podcast has inspired you to follow in their footsteps. With the proper training, you, too, can nurture and protect the health of your family and loved ones with Practical Homeopathy®.

 

Kate:  You just listened to a podcast from PracticalHomeopathy.com where nationally certified homeopath, public speaker, and author, Joette Calabrese shares her passion for helping families stay strong through homeopathy. Joette’s podcasts are available on iTunes, Google Play, Blueberry, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn and iHeartRadio.

 

Thank you for listening to this podcast with Joette Calabrese. To learn more and find out if homeopathy is a good fit for your health strategy, visit PracticalHomeopathy.com.