“Nedicine” practitioner argues federal trademark law protects right to practice

A Washington state holistic practitioner is suing the state Department of Health for $25 million, claiming he should be able to practice “nedicine” under a federal trademark.

C. Hugh Johnson was arrested in March on suspicion of practicing medicine without a proper license, according to a report published in the Whidbey News. Johnson, who has a history of run-ins with the law, indeed does not have a license to practice medicine, but claims to have a “license” through a body called the “American Nedicine Licensing Board.”

“Nedicine” is an alternative practice of natural medicine, and is the invention of Beverly Jackson, a holistic practitioner from Connecticut. Jackson is also suing her state for $27 million and the right to practice “nedicine” under a federal trademark.

According to the Whidbey report, the trademark for “Doctor of Nedicine” is registered with the United State Patent and Trademark Office for “alternative medical services related to the practice of functional diagnostics and natural medicine.”

Since the trademark has a “Class B” classification, Jackson claims that it permits certification of services, more specifically, of “nedicine.”

Johnson, who was credentialed by Jackson’s “American Nedicine Licensing Board,” was charged with over 40 dozen felonies in the mid-nineties and spent four years in state prison.

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