On July 22, 2026, Will and I participated in the first annual Day on the Hill with the American Herbal Products Association. AHPA is the trade organization that represents the herbal products industry, including farms, processors, manufacturers, formulators and brands, labs, distributors, retailers, and more. They were led for 35+ years by Michael McGuffin, a huge force for good in the industry, who passed in 2025; and since then by Graham Rigby, a past AHPA board member who has stepped up to fill some very big shoes and is doing it very well. I have served on the board since 2023 and was re-elected in 2026. The AHPA website is ahpa.org.
(or NAC, HairReVive). Protecting the $900B drug companies from ingredients that drug companies don't even want is fundamentally unfair, and in the case of NAC, will cost lives--NAC is the best known antidote to Tylenol (acetominophen) poisoning, which kills hundreds of Americans every year. If NAC is only available as a drug, no one will have it handy when they need it. And their hair may fall out. :)
sp. n-acetyl-cysteine The purpose of any lobby day like this is to talk to Congress about our industry and the issues that need attention. This year we had three: 1) use of HSA/FSA funds to buy herbal and other supplements without a doctor's prescription (it's your money and health); 2) Federal pre-emption (there is none) of local label warnings like California's useless and stupid Prop 65 warning; and 3) Federal preclusion (hotly debated) of sale or use of supplements that were once, long ago, the subject of a drug application, like
In addition, we urged our representatives to help pass HB7050 to save homeopathy, which FDA is trying (again) to shut down. Although RidgeCrest no longer makes homeopathics (FDA doesn't know how to regulate them), we think consumers should have options, not be corralled by what FDA thinks is safe or effective--they're not good at either job.
It's always great meeting with our Utah members and staff--they are already leading the charge on many of these issues. We wish them success and hope they can actually get some of these things done for the American people. I look forward to next year!
