Undark

Interview: The Enduring Appeal of Alternative Medicine

Lewis A. Grossman's book "Choose Your Medicine" traced historic battles over alternative‑medicine freedom, a pattern echoed today as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushes to loosen FDA oversight of unapproved stem‑cell and peptide treatments. The interview highlights recurring public resistance to FDA regulation, from 1970s vitamin protests that flooded Congress with letters to AIDS activists demanding faster drug access in the 1980s. Grossman warns that the current administration’s emphasis on enforcement discretion could allow a surge of unregulated clinics, reviving a centuries‑old libertarian health debate.