Homepathy in the U.S.

Homeopathy is used throughout the world, and enjoys great success in certain countries. In India an estimated 5 million people practice it in various forms. In the U.S., Homeopathy has a long history, with much success, but full of politics.

The legacy of Classical Homeopathy in the U.S. lies just under the surface and is not hard to find. For example, Hahnemann Medical College and what is now known as Medical College of Pennsylvania, both in Philadelphia, were originally homeopathic medical schools. The nitroglycerin that is used today to treat chest pain and prevent heart attacks was a discovery of 19th century homeopathic physicians.

Non-homeopathic physicians formed the American Medical Association in the mid-1800s largely to fight Homeopathy. The larger battle was lost for Homeopathy in the U.S. in universities in the early 1900s. The scientific disciplines of chemistry and biology – and their offspring, biomedicine – gathered steam and defined what could or could not be true.

Homeopathic medicine, prepared energetically through ultra-dilutions, fell in the category of “cannot be true.” This was not, understand, because scientists tested Homeopathy and found it not to be true. It was because Homeopathy directly contradicted the prevailing mechanical theories of how our universe worked, and therefore “could not possibly be true,” i.e. there was no need to test it.

The resulting confusion was too much for early 20th physicians practicing Homeopathy, who were practical doctors, not ideologues, and gradually they were absorbed into the system.

The outcome of this is that there still remains little support for those who want to practice Classical Homeopathy in the U.S. It is a vast discipline, not easy to learn or practice, and those who want to do it have to make their own way. Few individuals have both the ability to be a good homeopathic doctor and the practical business skills to thrive on their own in today’s market.