The Bizarre Practices of Rep. Greg Oblander DC and the Dangerous Expansion of Chiropractic Scope in Montana
Originally published: 2025-04-04
Pictured: Greg Oblander DC Receiving the Montana Chiropractic Associaton’s Chiropractor of the Year Award
As the controversial House Bill 929—which would allow Montana chiropractors to prescribe drugs—advances through the legislature, new revelations about the bill’s sponsor, Representative Greg Oblander, are raising serious ethical, legal, and professional concerns.
Oblander, a practicing chiropractor and Republican legislator from Montana, has positioned himself as the face of the pro-drug expansion movement within the state’s chiropractic profession. But behind his impassioned legislative push lies a deeply troubling contradiction: Oblander is also actively practicing and promoting a fringe “energy healing” modality known as the Emotion Code, which falls well outside the legal definition and scope of chiropractic care in Montana.
Practicing Outside the Lines
According to Montana law, chiropractic is defined as:
“The system of specific adjustment or manipulation of the articulations and tissues of the body, particularly of the spinal column, for the correction of nerve interference and includes the use of recognized diagnostic and treatment methods as taught in chiropractic colleges but does not include surgery or the prescription or use of drugs.”
The state’s administrative code further clarifies that licensed chiropractors may use manual, mechanical, and dietetic methods, physiotherapy, x-rays, and other state- or federally approved tools—but nowhere is energy healing or emotional therapy authorized. Nor is “Emotion Code” a recognized or accredited chiropractic technique taught in any accredited chiropractic college.
Yet on his professional website, Oblander promotes The Emotion Code and The Body Code, describing them as “non-invasive therapies” that “remove negative frequencies from the energy body,” tapping into “quantum” energy fields to treat emotional and physical ailments. These claims are not supported by scientific evidence and border on spiritual or metaphysical practices, raising the possibility that he is illegally engaging in unlicensed mental health counseling or psychotherapy.
Regulatory Red Flags
Under Montana law, psychotherapy and mental health counseling are highly regulated fields requiring specific licensure, graduate-level education, supervised clinical experience, and adherence to strict ethical standards. These professions fall under the jurisdiction of the Montana Board of Behavioral Health and the Board of Psychologists—not the Board of Chiropractic.
By advertising services that claim to relieve anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma through muscle testing and energy manipulation, Oblander may be in violation of state law, potentially practicing outside his legal scope and infringing on regulated health professions.
Dr. Steve Tullius, a nationally recognized chiropractic advocate and former Vice President of the International Federation of Chiropractors and Organizations (IFCO) who submitted testimony opposing HB 929, was blunt in his assessment:
“Representative Greg Oblander has already demonstrated a troubling disregard for the established scope of chiropractic care... His promotion of the Emotion Code is unscientific, unproven, and strays far from chiropractic’s foundational principles of spinal health and nervous system function.”
A Bill Rooted in Contradiction
What makes this revelation even more bizarre is that Oblander is simultaneously pushing to bring chiropractors closer to the medical model by expanding prescriptive authority—while personally practicing a pseudoscientific technique that veers into New Age spiritualism.
This contradiction has left many observers bewildered. “It’s surreal,” said one regulatory expert. “On one hand, he’s asking lawmakers to trust that chiropractors are qualified to prescribe medications like Xanax and muscle relaxants. On the other, he’s talking about ‘negative frequencies’ and invisible energy bodies.”
Family Ties and Political Clout
Oblander’s son, Dr. Ryan Oblander, is also a chiropractor and has been active in supporting HB 929. The elder Oblander received congratulatory remarks from committee members after the bill passed the House Business and Labor Committee 17–4—indicating a level of camaraderie and support that raises additional questions about political favoritism and lack of scrutiny.
The Montana Board of Chiropractic, which would be tasked with implementing and overseeing training standards for prescriptive authority, has already come under fire for displaying shocking ignorance about the very drugs involved in the bill. One board member admitted to Googling what Schedule IV drugs were and expressed confusion over their inclusion in the legislation. When they realized that their original Bill included opioids they quickly reworded the Bill.
Now, with the bill moving to the House floor, the influence of personal relationships, professional blind spots, and regulatory capture appears to be steering Montana toward a dangerous new precedent.
The Bigger Picture
If passed, HB 929 would make Montana one of the few states allowing chiropractors to prescribe drugs—a sharp departure from the profession’s historically drug-free identity. The law would also create a slippery slope, legitimizing expanded scope based on “optional training” in pharmacology while leaving the door open to practitioners who already disregard existing scope boundaries.
Oblander’s involvement in “Emotion Code” and his legislative push for prescribing rights underscore a disturbing trend: the erosion of professional standards in the name of political ambition and personal ideology.
Conclusion: A Wake-Up Call
This situation is no longer just about scope expansion. It’s about credibility, legal accountability, and public trust. Montana lawmakers and health regulators must ask themselves:
Do we want to hand over prescriptive authority to individuals who are already practicing outside their legal bounds and promoting pseudoscience to the public?
As HB 929 heads to the House floor, the stakes couldn’t be higher—not just for the chiropractic profession, but for the health and safety of all Montanans.
