This is most likely an extremely unpopular opinion here, but mandatory FDA approval is another one of those government regulations that I think the world would probably be better without.
If I'm desperate for medicine and am willing to take a risk by taking a non government-tested drug, then shouldn't that be my right? Also, it's not even entirely clear whether on the whole, the FDA saves more lives than it harms. Sure, it's prevented many bad drugs from going to market, but the astronomical costs (both time/money/energy) associated with getting drugs approved by the FDA 1) slows down good pharma companies and 2) discourages many people from starting good pharma businesses at all.
A free market solution to this would be to have FDA and/or commercial enterprises vet the drugs with open, transparent standards, and the pharma companies can choose at will whether or not they want to be certified by these companies (and list whatever certifications they received on their products). The consumers can then choose at will whether they want to buy products with only these certification(s), or they can take a gamble and buy completely uncertified products.
Entrusting a government agency to retain totalitarian, opaque control over what drugs can make it to the market is just a bad idea.
You can buy snake oil. The limitation is you can't market it as curing cancer and doctor's can't prescribe it. Which is a vary important distinction.
Herbal infusions, Homeopity, and a host of other 'options' still, but if you call yourself a doctor and not just a 'faith healer' they effectively don't which is a good thing.
If I'm desperate for medicine and am willing to take a risk by taking a non government-tested drug, then shouldn't that be my right? Also, it's not even entirely clear whether on the whole, the FDA saves more lives than it harms. Sure, it's prevented many bad drugs from going to market, but the astronomical costs (both time/money/energy) associated with getting drugs approved by the FDA 1) slows down good pharma companies and 2) discourages many people from starting good pharma businesses at all.
A free market solution to this would be to have FDA and/or commercial enterprises vet the drugs with open, transparent standards, and the pharma companies can choose at will whether or not they want to be certified by these companies (and list whatever certifications they received on their products). The consumers can then choose at will whether they want to buy products with only these certification(s), or they can take a gamble and buy completely uncertified products.
Entrusting a government agency to retain totalitarian, opaque control over what drugs can make it to the market is just a bad idea.