FDA Turns 100

by Don Boudreaux on July 15, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration turned 100 years old. This fact is hardly a cause for celebration. Mercatus Center intern Satya Thallam has this nice op-ed to commemorate.

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Tom Swider

Something I wasn't aware of until today is that FDA laws for placing products containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter (and requiring showing ID and a physical signature in some states) is a provision of the USA PATRIOT ACT. I came across this at www.fda.org by conductin a search on the word "pseudoephedrine".

The common street justification is that this is supposed to prevent kids or drug dealers in the US from making Meth.

Once again, this is what happens when laws like the USA Patriot Act or Meagan's Law are ramrodded through without thinking about the implications. In my opinion, these actions accomplish nothing except (1) further the political agendas of politicians and special interest groups by making innocent people feel guilty for trying to get rid of their colds, (2) create bigger government, and (3) further mock the Constitution and US Bill of Rights.