Medical Herbalism: Modern Status
Herbal Medicine always was the primary form of medicine worldwide until the twentieth century and still is mainstream in over 70% of the world, particularly in China and India. In developing countries, plant medicine is entirely sustainable compared to purchasing licensed drugs vastly beyond most national health budgets. Western developed countries, particularly the UK, are reviving their herbal heritage and newly integrating it into healthcare, in order to restore physical, psychological, social and environmental harmony.
In England, the right to practice Herbalism had been foreseen by law since Henry VIII's Herbalists' Charter in 1543, which can be examined by clicking here http://home.teleport.com/~howieb/treats/charter.html.
The medical establishment sought to overturn this right in the XIX century. The National Association of Herbal Medicines first campaigned to retain the right to practice in 1986 and won the Medical Herbalists Registration Bill in 1923. This legal status was withdrawn in the 1960s, due to new regulations licensing drugs. In 1941, the UK Parliament passed the Pharmacy Act, which banned the practice of Herbalism for almost 30 years.
In 1970, Fred Fletcher Hyde, President of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists negotiated to oversee the Committee on Prescription Only Medicines in defining the “Herbalist”, Clause 56 of the 1968 Medicines Act. The Herbalist was defined as “One who exercises his judgement as to the treatment required and accepts legal responsibility for his actions”.
In 1999, Yvette Cooper, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, proposed that Herbalists be granted Statutory Self-Regulation (SSR). In 2000, the House of Lord Select Committe published a Report, which began the process of negotiating the conditions for SSR, which has recently been approved by the British Medical Association (BMA).