Josh Sharfstein, the Food and Drug Administration official who led efforts to ban alcohol-infused drinks such as Four Loko, is joining the O'Malley administration and feels, well, incredulous.

"It's an incredible opportunity," Sharfstein said, accepting his new post at the helm of Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "I am taking this job because it's an incredible job at an incredible time with an incredible team here in Maryland."  Sharfstein is currently second-in-command at the FDA.

In a three-minute speech before reporters and lawmakers in Annapolis, Sharfstein lauded his predecessor, John Colmers, "for the incredible work he's done" in such an "incredibly important role" that combines "an incredible range of things."

Maryland has made "incredible progress" in health care, he said.

"It's just incredible to see the work the state did, even in such difficult times to make such strides forward in the health of the state of Maryland," Sharfstein said.