Why does the FDA not test medications better before releasing them for use ?

Is the American public the guinea pigs ?
Answer:
Its politically incorrect to test on monkeys... so we test on the American public instead.

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Money %26 yes

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Medications are tested and are put through multiple clinical trials before the are released to the general public. There is a difference between 5,000 people taking a drug and 5,000,000. There is no perfect way to make sure all drugs are safe.
My questions is why do Americans so willing to take a drug for absolutely everything, and think there is no consequence. Drugs are a trade off and have risks some known some not, but they are not trivial.

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If the FDA didn't check the medications before release then companys would be able to release potentially dangerous drugs, the FDA makes sure that they are reasonably safe and that they do as they claim to do.(also to insure that there are no substances in the drug that are deadly or in other ways harmfull or illegal)

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They have to keep a balance between releasing drugs which might turn out to have dangerous side effects and keeping beneficial drugs from people for too long. Some uncommon side effects might not show up until the drugs have been used by a large number of people.

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I did an essay on this for my US gov't class in college. The truth is they test them, but like has already been stated drug companies are rich and so they actually pay some of the scientists to overlook results (side effects stuff like that not major things). Other effects just take a while to set in so the drug is FDA approved before the side effects have time to occur in patients participating in clinical trials. In addition the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in the big picture. More drugs have been rushed through and saved lives than have been rushed through and caused unforeseen problems. The actual FDA approval is a thorough process but like I said drug companies have money and unfortunately money talks.

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The FDA doesn't test at all. It requires tests be submitted for review. It's a political body, and it's susceptible to the public whim. You think the rules are too lax. Others are pressuring them because they're "withholding needed drugs from the public." What they do is a reasonable compromise. My personal feelings are that they should be a little more restrictive. I also think people are nuts for taking medication when they have a cold, and I base this on solid rational scientific evidence, but can you imagine the public uproar if they were suddenly banned tomorrow? The real problem is that the American public are fools when it comes to drugs and have totally unrealistic expectations. It isn't the FDA's fault. In the immortal words of Pogo, "We have met the enemy and they is us."

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