Technically, the FDA [  FDA 1999 Federal register ] has said it falls within the purview of pre1938 (pre-FDA) supervision and that it can be sold as it was sold and manufactured then (it is grandfathered in as they say). This basically means that no claims of “cures” can be made without going through the expensive and time consuming FDA testing. It can be sold under these legal provisos. CS info

Well, if it is legal, why doesn’t my doctor use it? Answer: Ayurvedic medicine has used it for centuries. The Chinese have used it likewise. Some MD’s have and do use some form of silver. Our system is based on “allopathic” medicine and has become very drug-oriented since 1938. Colloidal Silver is relegated to the “orphan drug” category, which means very much like “garlic”, it is too good, too easy to get and thus cannot be sold by the big drug companies for 1000 per cent and more profit. CS info    For a real brain buster, go read this article on how much these companies actually make: Prescription Drug Profits Obscene   |     An Industry Under Fire --- A Frontline PBS Report

By law   silver products cannot be claimed to "work" on anything in terms of its internal use in the human body. It is not classified as a medicine, but instead, a simple, nutritional supplement. [  Colloidal silver list of diseases: ] [  FDA 1999 Federal register notice ]

"After a three-year investigation during which the FDA could apparently find no grounds to issue an outright sales ban, they published their "Final Ruling." It stated that, like all nutritional supplements, colloidal silver could continue to be sold over-the-counter, as long as no claims were made for it in terms of healing illness or disease. If such claims were made, the claimant would have to show that he had successfully completed the FDA's stringent testing procedures [ super expensive procedure costing up to $ 300,000,000 ] for over-the-counter drugs, and had submitted the appropriate applications to sell the substance as an over-the-counter drug. In short, the well-known infection-fighting properties of pure silver could no longer be listed on the label, or mentioned in the advertising, of colloidal silver products, unless years of FDA-approved testing was undertaken. In the meantime, it could only be sold as a nutritional supplement, and no claims could be made." [  Colloidal silver list of diseases: ]

"Colloidal silver is considered to be a pre-1938 drug. These products may continue to be marketed without submitted evidence of safety and effectiveness [required of all drugs marketed after 1938] as long as they are advertised and labeled for the same use as in 1938 and as long as they are manufactured in the original manner."