The Collapse of the FDA

Chelation, “Natural” Therapies, and FDA Limits

• Commenters identify RFK’s “chelating compounds” as EDTA, legitimately used for heavy metal poisoning but abused by “detox” and autism quacks, sometimes fatally (e.g., calcium depletion causing cardiac arrest).
• EDTA can be approved as a prescription drug, sold as a supplement, and used as a lab reagent or food additive; the fight is mostly about what can be marketed as medicine.
• Some argue preventing self‑medication was a mistake; others say this is exactly where FDA protection is most needed.
• Similar tensions show up around raw milk and “clean foods”: some seek enzymes/bacteria they believe are beneficial; others see unjustified culture-war hostility to basic safety like pasteurization.

How Well Is the FDA Working Now?

• Several posts cite “Bottle of Lies” and ProPublica pieces to argue the FDA is already failing on overseas generics: manipulated records, contamination, and secret exemptions granted to avoid drug shortages.
• Others say this is less “collapse” than underfunding, limited jurisdiction, and impossible political tradeoffs between safety and supply.
• There’s debate over whether current manufacturing standards are unrealistically strict and drive production offshore, or whether import laxity is the core failure.
• Some stress that, despite real scandals, the FDA clearly blocks vast numbers of unsafe/ineffective drugs; calling its performance a “crapshoot” is rejected as misleading.

Regulation vs. Freedom and the “Nanny State”

• One camp wants major deregulation: sees FDA as slow, heavy‑handed, blocking lifesaving drugs (e.g., narcolepsy treatment TAK‑861) and overburdening innovation; suggests post‑hoc policing of “top used” products instead.
• Critics respond that in a snake‑oil market honest R&D loses to aggressive fraud, and history shows regulations are “written in blood” after mass poisonings.
• Arguments over whether we should let “Darwin” cull reckless individuals clash with concerns about children, misled patients, and corporate incentives to harm for profit.

Advertising and Pharma Power

• Many see direct‑to‑consumer prescription drug ads as corrosive: they pressure doctors, distort demand, and are framed as “speech” to evade control, unlike tobacco ads.
• Others say ultimate responsibility lies with prescribers, not advertisers, though that view is challenged as ignoring real market and liability pressures.

Devices, Cybersecurity, and Broader Institutional Decay

• Commenters note the FDA’s crucial role in medical devices, from scammy or unsafe implants to networked monitors with serious cybersecurity and national‑security implications.
• Some fear broader institutional erosion (courts, agencies, public health) is pushing the U.S. toward “failed state” dynamics; others attribute that sense to media‑driven fear and polarization.

RFK, COVID, and the Future FDA

• Opinions diverge on new FDA leadership and RFK’s agenda: some defend evidence‑based critiques of blanket COVID vaccination policy; others see the same work as selectively framed “crazy MAGA” anti‑vax rhetoric.
• A few hope the current shock could clear ossified structures and eventually yield a better regulatory regime; many others worry that what replaces the FDA will be far worse, especially for food and drug safety.