News, Policy & Economics

Modern Acupuncture: Ancient Modality, Mass-Market Model

By Kristen Schepker, Assistant Editor

Modern Acupuncture, the country’s first acupuncture franchise, is bringing the ancient healing practice to the masses with a unique focus on convenience and affordability. But is it watering down and oversimplifying this venerable modality?

How Transformative Tech & Renegade Retail Will Reform Healthcare

By Erik Goldman

The next wave of healthcare reform won’t be coming from the federal government, the insurance industry, the hospital systems, or medical academia. In fact, the driving forces already reshaping healthcare aren’t coming from within healthcare at all, but from the world’s biggest tech and finance companies on one side, and good old-fashioned grass-roots consumerism on the other.

Holistic Practitioners Weigh in on “DSHEA 2.0”

By Erik Goldman, Editor

How do holistic and functional medicine practitioners feel about DSHEA and the peculiar language games it obliges supplement makers to play? Holistic Primary Care’s 2019 practitioner survey offers some interesting insights.

Gottlieb Resignation Leaves Key Supplement Rules in Limbo

By Erik Goldman, Editor

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s surprise resignation earlier this month sent shockwaves through the natural products industries. His departure at the end of March will leave two key aspects of dietary supplement regulation in limbo: the legality of CBD supplements, and the possibility of a major revision of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).

Cannabis & Hemp: A Regulatory Update

By Erik Goldman, Editor

The year 2018 was a landmark in the history of hemp and cannabis in the US. It was the year the FDA approved the first natural cannabis-derived prescription drug, and Congress passed a Farm Bill that included provisions legalizing cultivation of, and interstate commerce in, low-THC hemp. But the laws and regulation around hemp and cannabis remain a confusing patchwork, and some states are taking regulatory actions that run counter to the new federal provisions.

Cannabis, Hemp, Marijuana: What’s in a Name?

By Erik Goldman, Editor

Amid the current rage for all things cannabis, there is a lot of confusion about the terminology used to describe this plant and compounds extracted from it.

Part of that confusion arises from the Farm Bill of 2018, which changes some federal definitions. These changes have major implications for legal and regulatory policy.  Here’s a guide to common cannabis-related terms and their current definitions.