I am opposed to dry needling by physical therapists for many reasons. First, to practice acupuncture as a licensed acupuncturist is a 3-4 year Masters program with over 800 hours of needling as interns. 54 hours of training for a physical therapist to insert needles in someone is a complete lack of disregard to public safety. MD's take a 6 month certification course to practice acupuncture; 54 hours of training for a physical therapist is inadequate and a liability threat waiting to happen. Infections, lung punctures, and damage to nerves are a few serious accidents that can happen with inadequate and inferior training. Secondly, the dry needling laws in Virginia are illegal because they would allow physical therapists to engage in acts that are outside the scope of their practice. And lastly, there is no evidence that the General Assembly intended to allow physical therapists to insert acupuncture needles without the same level of training required for acupuncturists.