Two Insiders Shattered Montana’s Chiropractic Drug Bill Narrative: The New Mexico Experience
Originally published: 2025-04-10
As Montana’s controversial House Bill 929—the so-called “Chiropractic Drug Bill”—continues to move through the state legislature into the Senate this week, two powerful voices from New Mexico have entered the debate with devastating clarity.
Rod Justice DC, Executive Director of the Alliance of New Mexico Chiropractors, and Cathy Riekeman DC, former Chair of the New Mexico Board of Chiropractic Examiners, have delivered testimony that obliterates the credibility of the Montana Chiropractic Association (MCA) and the Montana Board of Chiropractors, both of which have repeatedly pointed to New Mexico as a success story in chiropractic drug prescribing.
CLICK HERE to listen to Justice’s Testimony
CLICK HERE to listen to Riekeman’s Testimony
Justice and Riekeman’s firsthand accounts tell a very different story—one of regulatory chaos, professional division, and public risk.
Rod Justice: "Montana’s Bill Lacks the Guardrails—and It Shows"
Justice, who leads the organization that now represents New Mexico’s drugless chiropractors, testified that MCA’s comparisons to New Mexico are “grossly inaccurate and dangerously misleading.” He explained that New Mexico’s system required 90+ hours of pharmacological training, was strictly regulated by both medical and pharmacy boards, and still failed to protect the public or the profession.
In fact, the situation in New Mexico became so volatile that it ultimately led to a failed attempt to push for full prescribing rights—a move rejected even by medically trained regulators.
Montana’s bill, Justice warned, has none of these safeguards. Instead, it places trust in a politically compromised chiropractic board to set drug rules, even as its members have publicly demonstrated ignorance about the very medications included in the bill.
Riekeman’s Testimony Shows They’re Either Lying—or They Don’t Know What They’re Talking About
If Justice’s testimony was strong, Dr. Riekeman’s was incendiary.
As the former Chair of New Mexico’s regulatory board during its prescribing expansion, Riekeman laid out the raw truth: the program was a regulatory disaster, plagued by lawsuits, internal conflict, and complete dysfunction.
She dismantled the MCA and Montana Board’s narrative point by point revealing their representations of New Mexico’s program either intentionally deceptive or shockingly uninformed. She detailed how the New Mexico board was overwhelmed, unprepared, and ultimately undermined by the same kind of political interference Montana is now facing.
Her conclusion was blunt: Montana is about to repeat the same mistakes—and worse, without even the minimal infrastructure New Mexico had in place.
The Core Issue: Montana’s Board and MCA Can’t Be Trusted
What Justice and Riekeman’s testimony underscores is this: the Montana Chiropractic Board and the Montana Chiropractic Association have forfeited their credibility.
From publicly misstating facts, to failing to acknowledge the disastrous precedent in New Mexico, to pushing legislation despite clear conflicts of interest, their campaign for HB 929 has become a case study in professional overreach and political manipulation.
Their claims have now been publicly and factually rebuked—not by ideologues, but by individuals with direct experience navigating the very model they claim to be emulating.
This Is Not Reform—It’s a Power Grab
HB 929 is not about expanding access or modernizing care. It’s about consolidating power among a small group of politically connected insiders who are reshaping the profession for personal and organizational gain.
The testimony from New Mexico proves it.
Montana lawmakers should take note: when the people who lived through the consequences are begging you not to repeat their mistakes—listen.
