Unlike petrochemical-based and lab-derived drugs, homeopathic medicines are prepared from natural substances only: plants, minerals, and animals, in a very specific manner that has not changed in over 200 years. Once th​e substance (e.g., the roots of a plant, or a sample from a mineral) has been retrieved and treated so that it is soluble and rendered stable, it is then repeatedly diluted and succussed (vigorously shaken) in a highly rigorous manner. Believe it or not, the more these dilutions and succussions continue, the more powerful the medicine becomes! This process is called potentization, and it is the hallmark of all homeopathic medicines. So, unlike in Hahnemann’s time, when medicines such as arsenic and mercury were so toxic to the suffering patient, this brilliant homeopathic methodology allows us to unleash the full power of the remediating substances without the horrible “side effects” (really, just their true effects) or risk of death. After all: there was and is nothing wrong with either arsenic or mercury as curative agents; it was just that the dose was too large, and the resulting effects (including death) unconscionable. The homeopathic method of preparing these medicines solves the problem of toxicity, and lets the patient heal gently, rapidly, and permanently.