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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

The death of Jade Erick: Why state licensure doesn’t protect patients from naturopathic quackery

Naturopaths claim that licensing their profession will ensure a high standard of care and protect patients. The case of Jade Erick, who died as a result of intravenous curcumin administered by a naturopath puts the lie to that claim. We now know that the naturopath who killed Erick has pending complaints that the Naturopathic Medicine Committee has done little to act on, revealing its ineffectiveness.

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Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Congress is back in session, and sneaking the cruel sham that is right-to-try in a must-pass bill Is on the agenda

Ill-advised right-to-try bills are spreading like kudzu through state legislatures. Now federal legislators want to insert right-to-try language into the bill that funds FDA drug approval. Given the support of powerful Republicans for right-to-try, is it too late to stop this juggernaut and protect patients?

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Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Clinical trials Politics Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Federal biomedical science policy under Donald Trump, nearly 100 days in

In less than two weeks, the Trump administration will have passed that magical “first 100 days” marker. Let’s check in and see how Donald Trump is shaping federal biomedical policy thus far. Hint: It’s deregulation über alles.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

SB 277 works. Period. No wonder antivaxers hate it.

The numbers are in. SB 277, the new California law banning nonmedical exemptions, works. Vaccine uptake is up, and personal belief exemptions are down dramatically.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Death by intravenous “turmeric”: Naturopaths circle the wagons and the chair of the Naturopathic Medical Committee of California looks for dirt on conventional medicine

A patient is dead because a naturopath dosed her with intravenous curcumin. Instead of learning from the debacle, naturopaths circle the wagon, and the chair of the Naturopathic Medicine Committee for the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs shows his intent to try to exonerate the naturopath responsible.