The Justice Department has said that ending the flow of illegal opioids in the U.S. is a top law-enforcement priority but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't want to wait years for courts to help, they are directly calling on the public to pressure sites like Google, Facebook, and Twitter to put a crimp on supplement and opioid sales.

At the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called on social media companies and internet companies to stop taking money for ads. Good luck with that. What he was really seeking is public help in pressuring them. Facebook and Twitter have repeatedly shown they are modern-day arms dealers and happily sell to both sides, so only the public can put the needed pressure on them.

In his notes, Gottlieb wrote a not-so-subtle threat, “The magnitude of the public health emergency presented by the opioid crisis requires a change in mindset among internet companies. We want to work collaboratively with these firms to organize this action. We trust that the leaders of these firms share our concerns.”


FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Credit: FDA

The three large companies, which sucked up all online advertising growth last year, have varying policies on what ads they will accept.