Anti-Herb Task Force CODEX Harmonization Effort??
By John Hammell
Life Extension Foundation Political Office
1534 Polk St.
Hollywood
FL 33020
800-333-2553, 954-929-0507
jhammell@ix.netcom.com
The biggest challenge to objective reporting on regulators is that not all of their activities are necessarily bad, or nefarious-at least not right away! Harvey W. Wiley, M.D. started the FDA with all the best intentions to safeguard the public health. But as even he admitted in his book "The History of a Crime Against the Food Law" the agency that he created turned into a monster. The big business interests that it was designed to protect us against ended up controlling it. Wiley's 1929 book is out of print, but is available for reading in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
A Multi-Agency Herbal Medicine Import Task Force to include FDA, IRS, Customs, Department of Agriculture, EPA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has just been established. The aftermath of a legal action against Chinese herbal importer May Hing, of Oakland, CA, led to this action.
FDA DECLINES TO COMMENT ON TASK FORCE
When reached for comment, FDA Public Affairs officer Janet McDonald of their San Francisco Office refused to discuss the Task Force telling me that only the US Attorney's Office could discuss the matter. She also expressed surprise that I knew about the Task Force, which still makes me suspicious. The US Attorney's Office told me I needed to speak with the Task Force Coordinator, Assistant US Attorney Andy Scoble, who gave the docket number on the May Hing case as CR 950289EFL, tried by Judge Eugene F. Lynch.
HING BROKE THE LAW
Hing clearly broke the law by failing to declare many of the items he imported on the shipping manifest, and several of the items undeniably pose definite threats to either the public health, or to US Agriculture. In addition, he sought to import animal by-products from an endangered species that is protected under international law. Hing entered into a plea agreement, and sentencing is pending a probationary period in which he is not to continue violating the law.
Hing violated so many laws that a special task force had to be assembled to properly investigate the violations, and this Task Force remains in force today. LEF is concerned with the POTENTIAL for abuse posed by the sheer existence of the Task Force, and I emphasized to all the officials that I spoke with that as long as they didn't cross over the line between bonafide law enforcement, and unconstitutional protectionism on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, that they'd have no trouble from us-but that we WILL be monitoring their actions.
Most of the Task Force officials whom I spoke with were courteous, professional, and were very open in discussing the Task Force (except for Janet McDonald of the FDA). However, it was also clear to me that they are cogs in a machine, and aren't able to see the larger political picture of regulatory abuse that is of concern to LEF members, and so might not recognize instances in which their Task Force might be used for illegal or unconstitutional purposes.
HOW THE TASK FORCE STARTED
The Dept. of Agriculture officer whom I spoke with informed me that the investigation on May Hing began when an Ag Dept. Inspector just happened to poke a hole in a box on a pallet in May Hing's warehouse, and a large quantity of animal bones that had not been declared on the shipping manifest (as required by law) poured out, spurring a complete investigation.
The Ag officer told me that two of the herbs Hing had imported, Dodder (genus cuscuta), and Imperata cylindrica, are parasitic plants and noxious weeds (respectively), which are prohibited from entry into the United States. Dodder is a parasite that kills fruits and vegetables and also clogs harvesters, while Imperata is similar to Pampas grass or crabgrass.
One problem I have in analyzing the Hing case is that none of the officials I spoke with were able to provide a complete list of the herbs Hing had imported, and they aren't listed in the legal brief from his plea agreement- only the illegal ones which the complaint stemmed from were. Thus far I have been unable to track down Hing for comment, but two free lance writer friends are looking for him.
Its possible that some of the herbs he was importing are quite safe, beneficial, and well known to us, but it would not be good PR for the Task Force to release that information since the last thing they want to do is to arouse the ire of herbal product consumers!
THE USDA's ROLE IN CUSTOMS INSPECTIONS
The US Dept. of Agriculture is charged by law to prevent exotic pests, insects, plant/animal diseases, parasitic plants and noxious weeds from entering and becoming established in the United States. Plant Protection and Quarantine of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection, USDA, inspects various commodities that are imported at seaports, airports, and postal facilities.
Based on the potential risk to our crops and livestock, some items such as Dodder are prohibited, while others require specific treatment or certification in order to enter the US. An example of this from the Hing case is the 110 lbs of realgar, a heavy metal containing arsenic disulfide for which an EPA permit must be signed to allow entry due to its extreme toxicity.
Realgar is still used by some traditional Chinese Drs. but Richard Ko, Pharm D., Ph.D. of the California Dept. of Health Services told me there are much safer herbs that are more prevalently used today for treating infections. He said that in rare instances it is also still applied topically. He drew an analogy between the use of realgar and mercury, contained in calomel, a harsh purgative that no modern doctor would ever use.
CHINESE ANTEATER SCALES
Ko also told me that Hing had imported 50 pounds of pangolin scales, from a Chinese anteater which is on the endangered species list under an international Treaty titled "C.I.T.I.E.S." which stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Ko emphasized that most Chinese, including Hing, were not aware of the Treaty. It will be interesting to see how they sentence him after his probationary period.
I was able to breath a bit easier upon learning that the USDA was the driving force behind the formation of this Task Force, and not the FDA- but any time you have a slew of Federal Agencies band together like this it warrants very close scrutiny.
AMERICAN BOTANICAL COUNCIL NOT ALARMED
Mark Blumenthal, Executive Director of The American Botanical Council and publisher of Herbalgram told me that he is aware of the Task Force, and has carefully reviewed the C.I.T.I.E.S list of protected herbs, so he is aware that at least THUS FAR there has been no stealth initiative to ban the importation of any commonly used herbs found in health food stores. Blumenthal stated that "The Task Force was primarily created to regulate the illegal importation of animal by-products from the endangered species list, not for the regulation of herbs." This may or may not be true. I note that the Task Force is named the "Herbal" task force, NOT the "Animal By-Products Task Force."
A STEALTH INITIATIVE?
Our suspicion of this new Federal government initiative comes at a time when herbal medicine is becoming widely accepted throughout the U.S. as a safe and effective alternative to dangerous and outrageously priced FDA "approved" prescription drugs. When NAFTA was drafted, a section titled "Phytosanitary Measures" was included for the stealth purpose of restricting trade in herbal products, yet the Agriculture officer who I discussed this with had zero awareness of the broader political implications of the language and got annoyed with me for bringing this up. This illustrates how even our most highly educated regulators are in reality cogs in a machine, and the "need to know" factor rules from the top down.
The language in the Phytosanitary Measures section was deliberately very loosely written so that the drug cartel can lump ANY herb or dietary supplement in under it in order to arbitrarily restrict your access. The "Phytosanitary Measures" section of NAFTA was copied verbatim into GATT, and the WTO is currently planning on basing its "authority" on it in order to take action against countries that don't conform to whatever guidelines they end up generating for herbs and dietary supplements under Codex.
Was the M.A.H.M.I.T.F. formed because it harmonizes with NAFTA, GATT and Codex, or was it strictly formed spontaneously in order to address the May Hing case and others involving animal by-products from the endangered species list as Mark Blumenthal believes? There is no way to know definitively, but the situation bears observation as reports pour into this office from around the world on efforts to suppress health freedom, and each must be carefully analyzed.
DRUG CARTEL GRABS HERBS IN NORWAY
Ron Birckhead, European Coordinator of the International Health Alliance, is alarmed by news of this Herbal Import Task Force despite its apparent current benign status, and urges vigilance on this side of the Atlantic. Ron warns: "they boil the frog slowly."
Reporting on the ongoing efforts to regulate herbs as drugs, Ron reports from Norway that on February 1st, the Norwegian FDA allowed the second "natural medicine" to be sold there. It is called "ECHINAGARD" is an Echinacea tincture (22% alcohol) and is exclusively sold in tightly regulated government drug stores. It is produced by the well known "healthfood" company called Schering-Plough. (For those of you who aren't aware of it, Schering-Plough is a pharmaceutical giant, and is just ONE of the companies currently trying to DESTROY your health freedom through the FDA and their fellow goons the world over!)
Cost retail for "ECHINAGARD" is $18.46 for 100ml (4oz) bottle, but it can LEGALLY BE ADVERTISED WITH A CLAIM THAT SAYS IT PREVENTS AND SOOTHES A COLD. Regular Echinacea (sold in health food stores) can not make that claim or any other claim! This "natural medicine" costs 3x the price of Echinacea in Norwegian health food stores. All OTC products in Norway are ONLY available in the tightly controlled government drug stores, including homeopathic remedies. Health food stores can't sell them. By defining them as OTC, they prevent the health food stores from being allowed to sell them. In reality, there are few homeopathic or other products to distract from the drug sales.
It should be emphasized that Echinacea is one of only a VERY FEW herbs that are ALLOWED to be sold in Norwegian health food stores. Many other supplements that used to be widely available in Norway prior to 1986, simply aren't available at all now, except on the black market at grossly inflated prices-when you can find them at all! If you want a product that's not available, you must get your Dr. to order it through the National Medical Board, which typically takes 3 months, and you pay through the nose. How would you like to have this happen in the US to your favorite supplements??
The drug companies are gradually starting their move to take over the health food markets best selling products in Norway, and as we've stated in the February and April issues of this magazine, the dangerous Codex provisions that we're fighting to stop are IDENTICAL to the repressive laws which destroyed health freedom there.
HELP US MONKEYWRENCH CODEX & CODEX HARMONIZATION EFFORTS!!!
We will continue monitoring all actions of the Herbal Task Force, and we URGENTLY need your donations in order to have a chance to monkeywrench Codex, and thoroughly examine any potential "harmonization" efforts. If any effort to clone the Herbal Task Force in other parts of the country is made, you will learn of it from us first, because no one else is watching. No other health freedom organization has gone to the trouble of investigating this Task Force, yet we badly need your ongoing assistance to fund our anti Codex efforts.
Funds will be used to pay Suzanne Harris, JD, and Ron Birckhead, our European liaison as well as for all emergency expenses necessary for this urgent anti Codex effort! Suzanne in CA needs funds to conduct a Think Tank on Codex in order to help us strategize a campaign to swing delegates against the draconian German proposal which threatens health freedom internationally, Ron needs funds to organize people in Europe, and I am running up big phone bills and online charges from communicating with California and Europe from Florida.
If you missed our previous articles on the International Codex Threat to Health Freedom and our efforts to form the International Health Alliance check your February and April issues of this magazine. If you just joined the Foundation or are a new reader, you may call Pat Stern at 1-800-841-5433 to have them shipped for a $10. donation. ($15 outside US) If you live outside the U.S., contact Pat by fax at 954-761-9199, or email to lef@lef.org.
For a donation of $50. or more, I will send you a special report titled "Globalists vs the Nation State" (copied with permission) which was published by Intelligence International of the U.K. They're the world leaders in independent intelligence reports since 1935, and world leaders and intelligence agencies internationally all subscribe to it.
The report augments our Codex reports and will help anyone to more clearly understand this complex political situation. We have lobbed our anti Codex articles in to all Presidential candidates with the message "we will remember in November!" Thus far, only Charles Collins, Independent candidate has taken our specific message to heart and made it part of his platform. Buchanan's anti WTO stance fits in with our anti Codex efforts, and regardless of what you may think of his other political positions, no other major candidate is advocating a US withdrawal from the World Trade Organization, which would neutralize the threat posed by Codex to the health freedom of Americans.
LEF is a non profit 501 C3 educational organization. Checks to assist our International Health Alliance may be made out to "Life Extension Foundation" and sent to: LEF Political Office 1534 Polk St. Hollywood, FL 33020 USA. Email me at jhammell@ix.netcom.com, and visit out web site at http://www.lef.org Thanks to those around the world who have already so generously donated money, moral support, and information! Together we can defend health freedom internationally! |