In 1986, Virginia was considered a double red state by the national acupuncture association.  Double red signifying that acupuncture would probably never be legalized to be practiced by anyone other than physicians.

Ralph Cohen, the founder of the Maryland Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, was writing a column for the national association of acupuncture in 1986 and had classified states according to the states’ legislature history.  The other classifications were green light states where passage to allow acupuncture was considered to be easy, yellow light states where passage may require some limitation, red light states where passage would be difficult and double red light states where it would be nearly impossible.  Virginia was only one of two states considered to be a double red light state.  Missouri was the second state.

Claire Wistoff, a senior acupuncture student at the Traditional Acupuncture Institute was tasked with completing a project that would have an impact on the world.  As she lived in Virginia and wanted to practice in Virginia she chose the legalization of acupuncture in Virginia as her senior project.  A daunting challenge to say the least.  Realizing she could not do it alone, she enlisted two other Virginia students to help her, Floyd Herdrich and Ann Strozier Adams. 

Shortly after forming their group, the three students were contacted by a woman who had just returned from a trip and had the good fortune to sit next to Richard Morrison, the Director of the Department of Health in Virginia.  As she was very interested in having acupuncture legalized in Virginia she asked him about the chances of success of having the legislature changed.  He advised her that now may be the time to lobby for acupuncture as there was a bill that was being proposed to allow for alternative therapies in Virginia. 

She passed this information on to the three interested students over a breakfast meeting.   The outcome of the meeting was the birth of a lobbying body for acupuncture, the Acupuncture Society of Virginia composed of Claire as President, Ann as Vice President and Floyd as Treasurer.