If the whole materia medica, as now used, could be sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for mankind, and all the worse for the fishes.—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr1 Reading a recent newspaper might remind one of the above quote. One of the questions the nation is currently confronted with is what should be done to address the safety of drugs. In this Commentary, the current system of drug safety monitoring will be described and the limitations of the current system will be highlighted. A potential solution will then be proposed that will require legislation to implement.