Opposition continues to grow to one of the leading contenders to run the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Janet Woodcock, because of her role at the agency at a time when the opioid epidemic took off. Woodcock, currently interim chair of the agency, served as the FDA’s “top drug cop” and under her rule approved highly addictive prescription opioids without adequate warning labels, that later fueled a surge in opioid-related overdose deaths—more than 450,000 over the past two decades. Many criticize that lack of oversight as the “worst regulatory agency failure in American history.”
Now an array of groups including physicians, public health and patient-advocacy organizations are lining up to oppose Woodcock’s nomination. They cite many egregious errors during Woodcock’s time, including the approval in 2015 to use OxyContin in patients as young as 11 years old, and in 2018, approval of a fentanyl analogue that’s 1,000 times more potent than morphine—even though one of the FDA’s own advisory chairs predicted that the drug would lead to more abuse and death. There are many excellent candidates to run the FDA and they should be considered, as the nation confronts a record level of drug overdose deaths.
Meanwhile, the cannabis industry is under pressure to address the issue of teenage pot use, as a number of studies point to increased consumption in states where marijuana is legal. One survey in California found that respondents were 23 percent more likely to have used marijuana since legalization in 2015; another study in Colorado also pointed increased use among teens. As a result, discussion is growing in Colorado and elsewhere on possible curbs on high-potency cannabis, which has been linked to psychotic disorders. Of course, this is happening only after marijuana has been legalized, which is why we urge politicians and lawmakers in states with legal pot on the agenda to consider a moratorium until we know more about the public health impact of the drug.