Re: The Magic Numbers
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Do you suggest that we allow any substance which for-profit corporations (god bless 'em!) put up on the shelves -- and then we allow the free market to sort out the dangerous stuff from the good stuff?
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YES.
And it actually worked quite well too, historically. Before the FDA started poking its nose where it didn't belong, drug companies still had great incentive to produce safe drugs. What is more, they had incentive--unlike now--to produce drugs that actually helped, as opposed to things that just were tested to be safe. Before the coercive FDA, the AMA had a journal of sorts (like a consumer's report) that served to let the public know which drugs were good and which weren't. Of course, it had no coercive authority, yet, for reasons unbeknownst to those who don't understand how markets work, it made for a highly competitive market in drugs.
Until, of course, the government granted the FDA power to decide which drugs we were allowed to use. This, combined with the awful patent system (which is a topic deserving of its own post) is what has created many of the bad situations with drugs today, not the free market.
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