Chiropractic Chronicle Archive

Exposed: The ACA’s Hidden Hand Behind Montana’s Push for Drug-Based Chiropractic

Originally published: 2025-03-30

In a stunning development that lays bare the coordinated effort to medicalize chiropractic, recent investigations reveal that the Montana Chiropractic Association (MCA) — the primary organization behind efforts to give chiropractors drug-prescribing rights Led by Sheridan Jones DC— is not acting alone. In fact, the MCA is a formally affiliated state partner of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA).

This affiliation is no symbolic gesture according to documents reviewed. It carries powerful implications: shared policy goals, collaborative legislative agendas, and a commitment to ACA’s national objectives. And that includes, apparently, supporting the expansion of the chiropractic scope to include drugs.

A Direct Line from the ACA to Montana's Drug Bill

As part of its affiliation, the MCA agreed in writing to abide by ACA’s bylaws and ethics and to certify that its leadership is ACA-aligned. The official ACA State Affiliation Application clearly states:

“We hereby agree to (1) abide by the ACA by-laws…”

According to the ACA's own FAQ document, an affiliate state association:

“…must have an organizational mission and vision that is largely compatible with that of ACA…”
and must “…work in a collaborative partnership… for the greater good of the profession.”​

Additionally, the ACA openly promotes its affiliate states as voting members in the ACA’s House of Delegates, where they help shape ACA policy — making it impossible to separate the actions of the MCA from the oversight and direction of the ACA.

In other words, when the MCA pushes for drug authority in Montana, they are doing so with the blessing and backing of the ACA.

Hypocrisy at the National Level

What makes this even more stunning is the ACA’s own public stance on chiropractic. On its website, the ACA claims:

“Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest, drug-free, non-invasive therapies available…”

And yet, its affiliate in Montana is actively working to abolish that identity by pushing legislation to allow chiropractors to prescribe drugs — including NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, glucocorticoids, and injectable anesthetics.

What’s more, ACA’s own Code of Ethics states:

“Doctors of chiropractic should commit to the highest standards of excellence and should attend to their patients in accordance with established best practices.”

Nowhere in those “best practices” does it suggest that chiropractors — who receive no drug prescribing training — should be prescribing drugs. In fact, several states housing chiropractic colleges — including Palmer, Sherman and LIFE West — continue to reject drugs as part of the chiropractic model. Their presidents have publicly opposed such legislation.

Several other state Associations have also rejected Montana’s bid to add drugs to the chiropractic profession including:

• The Florida Chiropractic Society

• The Alliance of New Mexico Chiropractors

• The New York Chiropractic Council

• The Georgia Council of Chiropractic

• The Palmetto State Chiropractic Association

• The Chiropractic Society of Texas

The MCA is also a dues paying member of ChiroCongress which is an umbrella organization made up of all the State Associations aligned with the ACA. Neither ChiroCongress nor its President, Brian Stenzler DC, have issued any statement condemning the MCA or ACA actions to add drugs to the profession’s scope. Though ChiroCongress does support the ACA’s Medicare Scope Expansion and Drug Bill which when passed will reimburse chiropractors based on state scope of practice. Considering that, it makes sense why the push now to add drugs to state scopes of practice.

What’s Happening in Montana Is No Accident

The Montana drug bill (HB 500), introduced by Greg Oblander, DC — the MCA’s 2024 Chiropractor of the Year and a Republican legislator — was narrowly defeated, but it has resurfaced again under a new push. This effort is supported by MCA leaders and state board members who are also ACA dues-paying members.

This includes:

• Dr. Caitlin Walter – MCA VP, state board member, ACA member

• Dr. Dustin Rising – MCA board member, state board member, ACA member

• Dr. Julie Murak – State board president, ACA member

• Dr. Marcus Nynas – ACA President, former MCA President, and orchestrator of the scope expansion agenda

Their fingerprints are all over this. These are not isolated actors — this is a network of active market participants, regulators, and association leaders working in lockstep to reshape chiropractic in the image of medicine.

Collusion or Collaboration?

This raises critical legal and ethical concerns.

The North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court determined that when state regulatory boards are controlled by active market participants, they may be subject to antitrust laws unless actively supervised by the state. In Montana, where MCA and ACA-aligned chiropractors control both the association and the regulatory board, the conflict is impossible to ignore.

Additionally, Montana’s own conflict of interest laws and Red Tape Relief policies were put in place to prevent this exact kind of regulatory capture. Yet here we are, watching a coordinated effort between a national organization, its affiliate, and state officials to expand scope in ways that directly benefit their practices.

Who Else Is on the ACA’s Roster?

The MCA isn’t alone. Other ACA-affiliated state associations include:

• California Chiropractic Association

• New Mexico Chiropractic Association (already prescribing)

• Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and more​

If Montana succeeds, these states may be next. This is not just a Montana problem. This is a nationally coordinated campaign with ACA’s fingerprints all over it.

Conclusion: The ACA Has Crossed the Line

The ACA can no longer claim to be a defender of “drug-free chiropractic” while simultaneously supporting — through its affiliates — the erosion of that very principle.

The ACA is now an official promoter of adding drugs in chiropractic.

Its leadership must be held accountable. Chiropractors across the country must ask:

• How can ACA claim to oppose drugs in chiropractic when its affiliates are writing drug bills?

• Why has ACA remained silent while its Montana affiliate undermines the profession’s foundation?

• Is ACA’s goal really to elevate chiropractic — or to absorb it into medicine?

The evidence is clear: The ACA is not just complicit — it is leading the charge.

CLICK HERE for a podcast discussion of this issue