On November 6-7*, The California State Board of Pharmacy is expected to vote to eliminate access to safe and critical Category 1 substances like glutathione, NAD+ and methylcobalamin (the active and most bioavailable form of vitamin B12). These treatments are relied upon by some of California’s most vulnerable populations, including chronic illness sufferers, cancer patients and firefighters. Help us #STOPTHEBOP and protect access to these irreplaceable treatments by signing our petition now!

****

On November 6-7 The California State Board of Pharmacy (aka "The BOP") will meet and vote on whether to block access to an entire class of natural compounded medicines that are depended on by patients all around the world. This unprecedented move would make California the ONLY state to take such an action, despite The BOP offering the public no scientific or legal justification for doing so.

These treatments, which include methylcobalamin and glutathione infusions, are labeled by the FDA as Category 1 substances (not to be confused with Schedule I controlled substances). They are legally prescribed and dispensed throughout the United States as primary and supplemental treaments for a variety of serious conditions including cancer, kidney disease, liver disease, heavy metal toxicity, mycotoxicity, anemia, cystic fibrosis, Parkinson’s, autism, Lyme Disease, long COVID, ME/CFS, and many others.

Pharmaceutical companies do not manufacture Category 1 substances. Instead, these critical treatments are only available through highly specialized sterile compounding pharmacies.

Since 2020, The BOP has been targeting these specialiized pharmacies with increasingly harsh regulations and using taxpayer money to file lawsuits against eight of them, falsely claiming that they were dispensing Category 1 substances improperly. Despite losing every case in court and even being admonished by one of the judges, The Board is now attempting to codify their extreme stance into policy, putting countless lives at risk.

Firefighters are one of the most critical groups that would be affected by this vote. 

Nationwide, cancer is the leading cause of death in firefighters, and Category 1 compounds are made up of several treatments that have demonstrated promising anti-cancer properties. The Volunteer Fire Foundation, a Sonoma County-based nonprofit founded by Jacqui Jorgeson (an author of this petition), has partnered with environmental medicine doctors to treat hundreds of firefighters with nebulized and intravenous glutathione. Dubbed the "Master Antioxidant," glutathione is naturally produced by the liver and thus has shown few side effects despite its powerful activity against environmental toxins. The work is personal for Jorgeson, who used glutathione to rid her own body of the petrochemicals she was exposed to at Ground Zero in New York City following 9/11.

Patients like Crystal and Ryan (the other authors of this petition) who suffer from systemic and neurological diseases including late-stage disseminated Lyme disease, would also suffer greatly if The BOP succeeds at blocking patient access to these treatments. 

In 2021, Glutathione infusions saved Crystal's life when she was faced with severe impairment of her detoxification pathways, daily anaphylaxis, muscle weakness, mold toxicity, heavy metal toxicity, and brain inflammation. Ryan suffers similarly, and also relies on methylcobalamin for red blood cell production and nerve repair. 

A study in 2011 found that most chronic illness patients use some form of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to manage their conditions. These chronic illness sufferers often spend years in search of doctors and treatments that actually work for their complicated diseases, which makes The BOP’s motion to effectively ban much of these CAM treatments even more devastating.

Our Demands for California's Lawmakers and Leaders:

• The California State Legislature MUST take official actions to increase oversight on The BOP in order to prevent regulatory overreach and ensure that regulations are grounded in scientific evidence.
• The CA State Legislature must pass legislation that prevents The BOP from being able to block patient access to widely used treatments – especially ones that are allowable under FDA guidelines as is the case with Category 1 substances. The new legislation MUST safeguard patient access to treatments they've depended on for years, as no single board should have the decision-making power to take them away or intimidate pharmacies into ceasing their production.
• We call on Governor Newsom to appoint at least one sterile compounding pharmacist to The BOP, ensuring that decisions are informed by those with direct experience in compounding practices.

We hope this petition will encourage The BOP to recognize the profound health benefits of these compounds and the detrimental impact their removal would have on many of California's most vulnerable residents. This vote would not only harm patients but would also directly harm countless small businesses, compounding pharmacies, and integrative healthcare practices. 

Please stand with patients, firefighters, and healthcare providers by signing and sharing this petition to keep these life-sustaining treatments accessible.

Together, we can #STOPTHEBOP.

Follow our website and new Stop The BOP instagram account for updates: @stop.thebop

Crystal A. Frost, PhD - Writer, Composer, Patient; @crystalfrostmusic

Jacqui Jorgeson - Founder, Volunteer Fire Foundation; @volunteerfirefoundation

Ryan Cassata - Musician, Activist, Patient; @ryancassata

*At the September 12 Board Meeting, after unanimous public opposition and two failed motions to push the regulations forward (a win), President Oh blocked a motion to send the regulations back to committee (a loss). Sending the regulations back to committee is one of Stop the BOP's primary goals as it would ensure the regulations are discarded. The next board meeting will take place November 6-7 where the board will pick this back up.

*At the July 31 Board Meeting, due to wide opposition, no final decision was made regarding the controversial regulations; the BOP will resume discussion and could call for a vote at the next board meeting, on September 12th. During this 45-day window they will respond to public comments that were made.