IMO, the FDA's authority should be limited to making sure that the snake oil does indeed contain genuine oil from genuine snakes.
They could put a label on it to the effect of "We don't think this stuff works, and it might even be harmful", but they should not be allowed to ban it outright.
The current situation is one-sided:
FDA approves something harmful -> people are harmed and their friends and family start calling for the FDA's heads.
FDA doesn't approve something helpful -> people are also harmed, but most of them don't even know they were harmed. There's little chance of an angry mob showing up at the FDA's door.
The FDA is biased in favor of rejection, not approval.
They could put a label on it to the effect of "We don't think this stuff works, and it might even be harmful", but they should not be allowed to ban it outright.
The current situation is one-sided:
FDA approves something harmful -> people are harmed and their friends and family start calling for the FDA's heads.
FDA doesn't approve something helpful -> people are also harmed, but most of them don't even know they were harmed. There's little chance of an angry mob showing up at the FDA's door.
The FDA is biased in favor of rejection, not approval.