What legislation marked the decline of patent medicines in the United States?

The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 marked a significant turning point in the regulation of patent medicines in the United States. This legislation was established to combat the widespread issues of adulterated and mislabeled food and pharmaceutical products. It required that all active ingredients in a drug be listed on the label and prohibited the misbranding and adulteration of foods and medicines.

Prior to this act, patent medicines were often sold with little to no regulation, leading to many products containing harmful substances or false claims regarding their efficacy. The Pure Food and Drug Act set the groundwork for consumer protection, ensuring that products sold were safe and accurately represented. This resulted in a decline in the popularity and trust in patent medicines, as consumers began to demand safer and more reliable options that conformed to the new regulations.

In the context of the other legislation mentioned, each served different purposes. The Food and Drug Administration Act established the FDA itself, but it was the Pure Food and Drug Act that directly impacted patent medicines. The Controlled Substances Act regulated drugs with the potential for abuse but did not specifically target patent medicines, and the Drug Enforcement Administration Act focused on enforcement related to controlled substances rather than the initial regulations of patent medicine. Therefore, the Pure Food and Drug Act of