Modern era




Traditional herbalism has been regarded as a method of alternative medicine in the United States since the Flexner Report of 1910 led to the closing of the eclectic medical schools where botanical medicine was exclusively practiced. In China, Mao Zedong reintroduced Traditional Chinese Medicine, which relied heavily on herbalism, into the health care system in 1949. Since then, schools have been training thousands of practitioners – including Americans – in the basics of Chinese medicines to be used in hospitals. While Britain in the 1930s was experiencing turbulence over the practice of herbalism, in the United States, government regulation began to prohibit the practice.

"The World Health Organization estimated that 80% of people worldwide rely on herbal medicines for some part of their primary health care. In Germany, about 600 to 700 plant based medicines are available and are prescribed by some 70% of German physicians."

The practice of prescribing treatments and cures to patients requires a legal medical license in the United States of America, and the licensing of these professions occurs on a state level. "There is currently no licensing or certification for herbalists in any state that precludes the rights of anyone to use, dispense, or recommend herbs."

"Traditional medicine is a complex network of interaction of both ideas and practices, the study of which requires a multidisciplinary approach." Many alternative physicians in the 21st century incorporate herbalism in traditional medicine due to the diverse abilities plants have and their low number of side effects.

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