The History of Snake Oils

Those who market good therapeutic grade essential oils are sometimes accused of "selling snake oil." If you are ever so accused, your response should be, "Yes, I do. Would you like a bottle?"

There are those in Australia who know what "snake oil" really is because 100-200 years ago the Australians exported "snake oil" to America because it was in great demand from miners, trappers, and families who were moving into the Western wilderness.

The early pioneers had to contend with many dangers which included not only their exposure to the weather and the threat of other hostile circumstances, but also the daily peril of rattle snake bites.

But there was a remedy. Traveling salesmen who serviced those early pioneers had an oil that, when applied to a snake bite, would penetrate the skin and detoxify the poison. That oil was Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternafolia). And that is how the traveling merchants of the West came to be known as "Snake Oil Salesmen." In the beginning, it was a good name implying a good and effective product.

Unfortunately, back in the pioneering days, some of the traveling salesmen acquired bad reputations, not because their oils did not work, but because they were dishonest in other ways. But that is no reflection on the efficacy of Melaleuca oil as an on-site detoxifier.

So there you are. Many of you really are snake oil salespeople after all. And you can be proud of it. Incidentally, the American pharmaceutical industry seized upon this derogatory label over a hundred years ago in order to portray as fraudulent anyone who sold anything in competition with their own products, including other legitimate herbal remedies which had a longstanding record of success both in European historical usage as well as that of the various American Indian tribes.  19th Century missionaries raised money for their work by supplying the pharmaceutical industry with herbal remedies which they researched and collected from the tribal medicine men.  However, if anyone else sold the exact same remedy, they were labeled as "snake oil salesmen" even though this term originally had a positive connotation.  So from the beginning this demonstrates the method of indoctrination utilized by big business pharmacy in order to misconstrue the truth in favor of their own monopoly.
 
When Congress passed a law that prevented the patent of any natural herbal remedy, the pharmaceutical industry then proceeded to negate as "useless fraud" the very herbal remedies that they had previously sold themselves for many years.  At the turn of the 20th Century at least 95% of all listings in the American Pharmacopeia were herbal extracts and tinctures.
 
After the law was passed preventing patenting of these remedies, manufactured synthetic chemicals replaced these, since of course they could be patented and therefore a nice big fat profit margin was assured.  Today over 180 billion dollars per year of pharmaceutical prescription drugs are sold, not counting the over-the-counter medications. 
 
Is is surprising?
Dr. David Stewart