Should Darvocet be banned?

A consumer advocacy group is suing the FDA, arguing that it should ban the sale of Darvocet and Darvon because the drugs are too dangerous.  The suit notes the accidental propoxyphene-related deaths of more than 2000 people since 1981.

Fifteen years ago, we would all have been skeptical of such a suit and inclined to trust the judgment of the FDA.  Unfortunately, the agency has become so political in the past decade, and its politics have so corrupted its science, that the agency no longer has credibility in these matters.  Our first reaction is to wonder how much money the manufacturers of Darvocet and Darvon have spread around in Republican campaign circles.