IAHF List: The National Association of Health Stores in the UK just lost a legal challenge in which they attempted to overturn the UK's ban on Kava. See the transcript from the hearing below.
*[if you would like to read the whole transcript, send me an email and I will send it to you]*
On January 30th, attorneys from both ANH and NAHS will be in court at the same time in a bid to challenge the EU Food Supplements Directive.
ANH and NAHS's lawsuits are separate, yet will be heard concurrently.
Given that NAHS will be using the same third rate lawfirm that just lost the kava case, this makes it doubly important that more people donate funds to the Alliance for Natural Health which has retained the best lawfirm in the European Union to handle their case. Please make your donations via their secure server at http://www.alliance-natural-health.org
The Crusador Vitamin Company in Orlando, Florida publishes a magazine called "The Crusador" which just ran a cover story on an interview with me about the global attack on dietary supplements. I'll be posting it on the IAHF website in the near future, but if you'd like a copy right away you can call The Crusador at 800-593-6273
IAHF will be doing at least 4 radio shows in the coming month in an effort to underscore the extreme global importance of vitamin consumers supporting the ANH lawsuit to overturn the EU Food Supplement Directive.
Ongoing work to turn IAHF into a membership organization in the coming year is ensuing. Please forward this to more people. Anyone can sign on to the IAHF distribution list at http://www.iahf.com If you're new to the list, please read the Emergency Alert on the website about the ANH lawsuit to overturn the EU Food Supplement Directive, which has huge global importance to the future survival of the supplement industry.
Case No. CO/1888/2003
Neutral Citation Number: [2003] EWHC 3133 (Admin).
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice,
Strand, London WC2A 2LL
19 December 2003
Before:
MR. JUSTICE CRANE
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BETWEEN:
(1) NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH STORES
and
(2) JENNIFER ANN SEAGROVE
Claimants
and
(1) SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HEALTH
and
(2) NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FOR WALES
Defendants
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Mr.Rhodri Thompson QC and Mr.Sam Grodzinski (instructed by Irwin Mitchell) appeared for the Claimants.
Mr.Philip Sales and Mr.Jason Coppel (instructed by Office of the Solicitor to the Department of Health) appeared for the Defendant.
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JUDGEMENT
Introductory
1. Kava-Kava is an ancient herbal remedy widely used in the Pacific region to relieve anxiety. It is derived from the plant species Piper methysticum. Following concerns about its safety, it was prohibited for medicinal purposes by the Medicines for Human Use (Kava-Kava) Prohibition Order 2002 ("the Order") and as a food by the Kava-Kava in Food (England) Regulations 2002 ("the Regulations"). Both were made on 18 December 2002. The Order applied to both England and Wales. The Regulations were mirrored in Wales by the Kava-Kava in Food (Wales) Regulations 2002 made by the National Assembly for Wales ("the Wales Regulations").
2. It is conceded that the Wales Regulations were flawed for lack of proper notification to the European Commission. Those Regulations were therefore revoked. By consent the Claimants' application against the National Assembly was withdrawn prior to the hearing.
3. The First Claimant is an association representing 420 stores supplying health foods. The second Claimant is a successful actress, permitted to bring her claim in a representative capacity.
4. Early in the hearing Counsel for the Claimants applied for disclosure of documentation placed before the Ministers who took the crucial decisions. I refused the application and with Counsel's agreement am giving reasons in this judgment. Since these reasons are in part based on authorities relevant to the issues, I shall deal with those reasons later in this judgment.
The statutory framework
5. It is common ground that products containing Kava-Kava are either "medicinal products" within the meaning of section 130 of the Medicines Act 1968 or are "food" within the meaning of section 1 of the Food Safety Act 1990 or in some cases fall within both definitions. A limited number of products containing Kava-Kava were licensed medicinal products. This case is not concerned with those and I understand that Kava-Kava has now been removed from such products by agreement. This case is concerned with unlicensed medicinal products.
For Health Freedom,
John C. Hammell, President
International Advocates for Health Freedom
556 Boundary Bay Road
Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702 USA
http://www.iahf.com
jham@iahf.com
800-333-2553 N.America
360-945-0352 World
