On April 30, 2011, natural healing remedies made of herbs and plants are going to be banned by a directive from the European Union, leaving pharmaceutical products as the primary option for patients .

The directive, called the THMPD (Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive) seeks to not just ban the use of herbal remedies but to actually criminalize them — making the growing or keeping of herbs for use in teas just as illegal as those for less conventional use.

The use of traditional and herbal remedies has already been banned in Canada.

According to the Alliance for Natural Health, in a pact with Big Pharma, the EU hopes to force the use of pharmaceutical products no matter whether they are truly the right choice for your situation.

On the other hand, proponents claim they are attempting to protect the naive from shoddily produced ‘snake-oil’ elixirs and medicines. They claim that herbal remedies will still be available but that they will simply be safer.