I am very interested in herbalism and various alternative medicines. Our western tradition is great but there is a lot out there that they are not looking at. Add to this the craven profit-driven actions of the "Big Pharma" and you have a recipe for mis-diagnosis and improper treatment.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of practitioners who make unwise claims and who really muddy the waters for those trying to do real alternative medicine. One of them just got taken down.
From the United States Department of Justice — U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Washington:
Former Port Angeles, Washington, Naturopath sentenced for scheme to profit on ‘COVID-19 cure’
A former Port Angeles, Washington, naturopathic physician was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 8 months in prison and one year of supervised release for a federal felony related to his misbranding, and sale in interstate commerce, of products he claimed could prevent and treat numerous serious diseases, including COVID-19 and MRSA, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown. Richard Marschall, 69, was convicted in October 2021, following a 4-day trial. The jury found Marschall guilty of Introduction of Misbranded Drugs into Interstate Commerce, his third conviction for the same crime following earlier prosecutions in 2011 and 2017. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, “It is extremely dangerous during the COVID epidemic for people to be engaged in conduct that would lead other people to defer and wait to receive medical care.”
“Mr. Marschall has a history of lying to patients about their health and his proposed treatments. His lies in this case are particularly troubling because he employed them when advising others about a deadly pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “As people became fearful and searched for answers, Marschall touted an unproven treatment as a miracle cure for the deadly disease. Such conduct can prevent patients from getting the legitimate treatment they need if they become ill.”
Full details at the site. His liscence had been revoked a few years prior yet he was still practicing.
This is his third Federal conviction. More at Quackwatch (October28th, 2021):
Government Actions against Richard A. Marschall, N.D.
Naturopath Richard A, Marschall operated the Natural Healing Clinic in Port Angeles, Washington. for many years. In 1998, the Washington Board of Naturopathy disciplined him for unprofessional conduct that involved treating an out-of-state patient he had not examined for “functional hypothyroidism”—an alleged condition sometimes referred to as “Wilson’s Syndrome.” In 2010, Marschall was criminally convicted of illegally marketing a growth hormone product (HCG) for weight loss. In 2013, in response to this conviction, the board disciplined him again. In 2015, he surrendered his naturopathic license. In 2017, he was convicted again for illegally marketing HCG. In 2018, in response to this conviction, the board revoked his license with no right to reapply for it. In 2021, he was convicted of a federal felony related to his attempts to promote a misbranded drug as a prevention for COVID-19. This article describes these enforcement actions in detail.
Wilson's Syndrome is bunk. 60+ symptoms described by one doctor and "aleviated" with "a special thyroid hormone treatment" Again, more at that site too. People like Marschall are giving alternative medicine a bad name.
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