Naturopathic Medicine: Should it be Regulated as a Primary Care Service in Quebec and Should Naturopathic Doctors Have a Full Scope of Practice?

On May 8, 2012, we witnessed a spectacular debate between André Saine, ND, President of the Quebec Association of Naturopathic Medicine, and Joe Schwarcz, PhD, Director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, and graciously and humorously moderated by Mark Ware, MD, Director of Clinical Research and Pain Management at McGill University. The debate seemingly came to the resolution by both debaters that yes, naturopathic medicine should be regulated in Quebec and there should be oversight of the profession. The crux of the debate related to: is there evidence for naturopathic medicine (Dr. Saine argued yes), what about conventional medicine (similarly, it has evidence for treatments and also largely insufficient evidence for…), does naturopathic medicine self-correct (an argument by Dr. Schwarcz), and the greatest argument of all, homeopathy is no more than a placebo effect (Dr. Schwarcz) – which will be discussed and debated for a second debate, entitled Homeopathy: Mere Placebo or Great Med.