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Acupuncture board proposes tighter rules for acupressure and manual East Asian therapies amid trafficking concerns
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Summary
Sponsor says SB 370 will close an enforcement gap by clarifying acupressure and manual East Asian therapies require licensure under the Board of Acupuncture; supporters cited trafficking and illicit massage businesses, while practitioners of Asian bodywork warned the rule would force many into costly retraining unless grandfathered.
Senator Malcolm Augustine told the committee SB 370 clarifies that manual therapy and acupressure, as practiced within East Asian medicine, fall under the Board of Acupuncture's scope and therefore require licensure and enforcement.
"This bill addresses a public safety issue that the board, based on its mission to protect the public, is mandated to address," said Tiffany Smith Williams, executive director of the Board of Acupuncture, describing investigations that found acupressure marketed as unregulated bodywork and sometimes used as a front for illicit massage businesses and trafficking.
Proponents included the Acupuncture Board, licensed acupuncturists and the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force. They urged criminal and administrative sanctions to deter bad actors and protect workers and customers.
Opponents — practitioners of Asian bodywork therapies and some massage therapists — said many certified practitioners trained in shiatsu or Asian bodywork (620‑hour programs and NCBAHM diplomate status) would face an onerous requirement to obtain an acupuncture degree, effectively shutting them out of practice. Testifiers urged a clear grandfathering clause or a pathway for certified Asian bodywork therapists to continue practice without full retraining.
Sponsors and the acupuncture board said they have drafted an amendment to preserve practice rights for credentialed practitioners (for example holders of recognized Asian bodywork diplomas) while targeting weekend‑certificate operators and uncredentialed weekend course graduates. The committee discussion focused on definitions, grandfathering language, and excluding high‑velocity spinal manipulation (a chiropractic practice) from the Board's manual therapy scope.
The bill generated a vigorous exchange over cultural practice, scope boundaries and public‑safety tradeoffs. No final committee action was recorded at the hearing.
