Carnohan v. United States

Michael Carnohan brought a declaratory proceeding to secure the right to obtain and use laetrile in a nutritional program for the prevention of cancer. The district court held that the controversy properly fell within the primary jurisdiction of the federal and state administrative agencies charged with evaluating new drug applications and therefore dismissed the action. We affirm.

When Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 301 to 392, in 1938, it established administrative machinery regulating the marketing of new drugs. The act “rests upon the constitutional…