WHEREAS, Acupuncture has been used in Asian countries for thousands of years to preserve and enhance health; and

WHEREAS, Acupuncture is widely used to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness; and

WHEREAS, Acupuncture is a safe, natural, and proven health care system; and

WHEREAS, Acupuncture is recognized as a primary health care profession in California; and

WHEREAS, The potential benefits of acupuncture are widely recognized; and

WHEREAS, Acupuncture is steadily being integrated into mainstream health care; and

WHEREAS, More than 15,000,000 Americans have turned to acupuncture and Asian medicine since they were legalized in this country in the 1970s; and

WHEREAS, There is more access to acupuncture in California than any other state in the country; and

WHEREAS, The risk of side effects from acupuncture are very low and the potential benefits are very high; and

WHEREAS, The National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization have found that there are many health conditions for which the efficacy of acupuncture is indicated; and

WHEREAS, The World Health Organization includes traditional medicine in its International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision; and

WHEREAS, More and more Californians are finding help in this evidence-based and proven medical system; and

WHEREAS, An increasing number of health care service plans and health insurers, including Medicare, Medi-Cal, and the Veterans Administration, are recognizing the value of acupuncture for their enrollees and insureds; and

WHEREAS, Acupuncture is effective in treating pain and reducing the dependence on opiates for pain management; and

WHEREAS, The accreditation standards of acupuncture and Asian herbal medicine education have been increased to the doctoral level; and

WHEREAS, Many Californians have come to rely on acupuncturists as their first choice of health care practitioners for low-risk, cost-effective, and reliable health care; now, therefore, be it