The Law, Nutrition and
Alternative Wellness Practices
An On Line Seminar by Ralph Fucetola, JD

Index:
Introduction
The Online Seminar

  Vitamin Lawyer On Line Seminar

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Ralph Fucetola, JD www.vitaminlawyer.com

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The Vitamin Lawyer web site links to a number of Articles by Ralph Fucetola JD that may help alternative practitioners and their staff to avoid the pitfalls of illegal practices while enhancing their ability to provide non-standard alternative modalities.  This page presents them together, as an On Line Seminar.

The Medical Practices Acts of the several States do not prohibit individuals from receiving unorthodox treatments, that are not part of the standard practice of medicine, nor from dispensing with medical treatment entirely, and seeking other alternate means to achieve and maintain health.

Truly, as the Supreme Court of the United States offered, "Mere unorthodoxy or dissent from the prevailing mores is not to be condemned. The absence of such voices would be a symptom of grave illness in our society..." Sweeney v New Hampshire, 354 US 234, p.251.

In Hillman/Kohan Eyeglasses, Inc v New Jersey State Board, 169 NJ Super 259, the State Supreme Court observed that, absent compelling health reasons, consumers should have choices in the competitive marketplace, and further, that if the legislature had intended to create a monopoly, it would have done so by specific grant of monopoly, which it did not do in the case of optometry, nor, we assert, in the case of the healing professions.

Individuals have the right to obtain unlicensed, private professional health care services. The Southern District of Texas case of Andrews v Ballard (498 F Supp 1038, 1980) is cited as a leading authority for the propositions that (1) a decision to obtain (in that case) acupuncture needle treatments from one not licensed as a medical doctor is a constitutional right encompassed by the right of privacy (p.1048) and (2) the provisions of the medical practices act, insofar as they limit the use of acupuncture needles to licensed physicians, are unconstitutional (p.1051, et seq.).

Throughout the Twentieth Century, Judges repeatedly championed the rights of the individual to freedom of choice in health care. Even the AMA begrudgingly amended its Code of Ethics to promote cooperation between licensed physicians and other health care providers.

The following Articles discuss a number of issues of interest to alternative practitioners.  In them I discuss Red Flag Words and how to differentiate between licensed medicine and alternative or complementary practices. We take a look at the Herbalists' Charter and how alternative practices and the ministry are complementary.

The On Line Seminar

The On Line Seminar articles are not presented in any particular order, though the first few are more general, so just read the articles that interest you.  A number of the articles have links to other resources.  My general Links Page is, vitlinks.html

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