The problem is that the pharma industry wouldn't have you believe it's a bunch of pointless roadblocks. The pharmaceutical industry, as currently constituted, g

The problem is that the pharma industry wouldn't have you believe it's a bunch of pointless roadblocks. The pharmaceutical industry, as currently constituted, generally thinks the FDA's system is great, because it means that not only are smaller, novel, and foreign competitors easily closed out of the market, but that they have long-term sole approval for their drugs. The large drug companies find this an extremely comfortable relationship - it's stable, predictable, and they are well-practiced at it. I think that it's not a problem to have an FDA which reviews and approves drugs, and even one which determines which drugs are qualified for Medicaid/Medicare payments. But what I would like to see is an "opt-out" system, where patients could sign a waiver declaring that they are aware that the drugs they would like have not been approved by the FDA and that they may be hazardous, to access otherwise-unapproved drugs. I think there are genuine costs to the current system that are too commonly dismissed: http://www.jpands.org/vol15no4/kazman.pdf http://www.jpands.org/vol15no4/kazman.pdf I'm not saying "abolish the FDA", I'm just saying "allow people to bypass its judgement if they really feel that they have to".