What Kind of Drug Is It?

Some debate exists as to whether herbal remedies are actually drugs. In Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy, Cynthia Kuhn and her coauthors state: "Anything you take with the intention of changing how your body acts is a drug. Any drug that comes from a plant is herbal." The U.S. Congress disagrees with this definition. In 1994, Congress classified herbal preparations as dietary supplements rather than drugs.

Overview

The medicinal use of herbs can be traced back to the earliest human civilizations. A renewed interest in herbal drugs began in the early 1990s. Miracle Herbs authors Stephen Holt and Linda Comac suggest that the limited success of so-called "conventional" medical treatments for certain ailments sparked a consumer revolution in the United States. "Consumers of health care services are seeking more control...