The Traditional Herbal Medicine Product Directive (THMPD, or 'Thumped' as I call it) is due to come into force in the Eurozone from April 2011. This particularly draconian piece of legislation will mean that many herbal products will be withdrawn from the shelves unless they can meet overly strict and unaffordable licensing schemes. In fact THMPD will effectively destroy many jobs and small businesses in the process and will seriously affect the wider herbal tradition.
If allowed to go ahead many herbs will fall out of use eroding the western herbal pharamcoepia and undermining the use of botanics. Needless to say the corporate interest of Pharmaceutical companies has been behind this drive for some time. We herbalists are continually discovering new plants, rediscovering old ones and finding new ways of using them but this legislation will seriously hamper this organic process.
A case in question for example is the herb Cat's Claw (Uncaria tormentosa). Under THMPD legislation this herb will be illegal despite the plant's value in the treatment of cancer, AIDS and other conditions. Cat's Claw, or Uña de Gato, as it is known in the Peruvian Amazon is a strong barbed vine of the Rubiaceae family. I stayed with a Peruvian shaman earlier this year and he showed the plant in its natural setting and later claimed to cure stomach and other cancers. Keplinger et al in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (64 -1999 23-34) comments "Pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids stimulate endothelial cells in vitro to produce a lymphocyte-proliferation-regulating-factor", which may be an indication of the plants healing virtues.
Furthermore practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Indian Ayurveda (the world 2 oldest extant systems of medicine) are seriously under threat in the Eurozone as a result of THMPD.
The Alliance for Natural Health ( http://anh-europe.org/campaigns/protect-traditional-medicinal-cultures) has launched a judicial enquiry into THMPD and while I'm not an advocate for their call for statutory regulation of herbalists this is a positive devlopment, and donations are urgently requested.
What can you do - write to your representatives if you feel it might help (http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/your-meps/your-meps) and demand action or visit http://www.saveourherbs.org.uk/ and sign the petition there but do consider other avenues - more often than not the voice of the people is loudest. Herbal medicine is seriously under threat and we need to take action to preserve this fascinating natural treasure immediately. The potential consequences of inaction are far too depressing to reiterate here.
Well put!
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