I strongly oppose any legislation that allows acupuncture to be performed without adequate training.  Dry needling is one small part of acupuncture and yet it is one that has a significant amount of risk to the safety of all patients receiving this treatment based on the techniques employed in this style.  Standards for the competent and safe practice of acupuncture has been set through regulations set forth for acupuncturists, and compromising on these standards puts the public at risk.  Acupuncturists learn safe and skilled practice through their training, which consists of no less than 1905 hours of education including a minimum of 660 clinical hours.  This is the standard set for the competent and safe practice of acupuncture.  Calling acupuncture by a different name to avoid having to fulfill the educational requirements for its practice is both misleading to the public and puts their safety at risk. Please protect your constituency from this unsafe practice and keep acupuncture (including the dry needling techniques) practiced by Acupuncturists who have both the skills and knowledge to be effective and safe.  Thank you so much for your time.