Obama memo kills FDA pre-emption over states

The US Food and Drug Administration, without being named directly in a presidential memorandum, has been ordered to cease its attempts to  secure pre-emptive regulatory authority over the 50 states on safety  labeling, including for pharmaceuticals. In addition, the document  calls for "heads of departments and agencies [to] review regulations  issued within the past 10 years that contain statements in regulatory  preambles or codified provisions intended by the department or agency  to pre-empt state law, in order to decide whether such statements or  provisions are justified under applicable legal principles governing  pre-emption."

Peter Pitts, a former Associate Commissioner at the FDA and president of  the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, commented on former  president of the Harvard Law Review, Pres Barack Obama's move: "this  should put to bed any lingering doubts as to the Administration's views  on the topic. 'Happy hour' for the trial bar [lawyers] begins  immediately."