Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-04
The Present Law Governing It is In
adequate for the Purpose.
VIEWS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DAVIS
Concerted Action to Be Taken in
Behalf Of New Legislation.
HOW DRUGS ARE DISPENSED

ton, and the result will probably be that
new legislation will be secured from the
next session of Congress which will place
safeguards around the sale and purchase
of poisons sufficiently strong to prevent a
repetition of the poor womans deed. The
inquest over the body of the girl disclosed
the fact that she had quarreled with her
lover after a spree, and had drank more
heavily in consequence, and while drunk
had secured from Druggist VIM. P. Phelps
of 18th and streets northwest bottle
containing large quantity Of sulphate of
morphia. The intending suicide procured
the poison merely by representing that she
wanted 1t for another woman OF her class
who was addicted to the use of the drug.
The investigation inspired by the tragedy
developed that the law in force in the Dis
trfct governing the sale OF poisons is en-
tirely inadequate for the purposes intended.
The Laws Governing Pharmacy.
Columbia, compiled by William Stone Albert
and Benjamin G. Lovejoy, has a chapter,
which is numbered 81 in the volume, headed
Pharmacy Its Importance at the present
time is such that extracts from 1t will be
both interesting and instructive.
Section l provides that it snail be unlaw-
fuf for the proprietor of any pharmacy or
store to allow any person except a regis
tered pharmacist to compound or dispense
the prescriptions of physicians or to retail
or dispense poisons for medical use except
as an aid to and under the immediate super
vision of registered pharmacist. viola
ton of this section subjects the offender to
a fine of not less than SIS or more than 500.
Section provides that the District Com
missioners shall appoint biennially three
pharmacists and two physicians, all of
whom shall have been residents of the Dis
OF five Nd of A.,
years practical experience in their profess
sfons, as commissioners of pharmacy. This
commission now consists Of r. NJ. Harper,
druggist, No. coo Pennsylvania avenue,
president; G. G. c. Simms, druggist, of 14th
and New York avenue; DR.. ]. NJ. Winter of
Mount Vernon square, and DIR. William P.
Carr, coroner, of 1919 18th street northwest
r. S. Lynch was the fifth member until his
recent resignation, and the vacancy has not
yet been filled. The duties of the commits
sioner are to examine applicants for the
practice of pharmacy, and If found accept
able to admit them to practice.
The Law Governing Poison Selling.
Section Is Of the chapter is most I'M
rortant one. 1t provides as follows:
1T shall be unlawful for any firm from
and after the passage of this act June Is,
1879 to retail any poisons enumerated in
schedules and B. as follows. to wit:
Schedule A.
Arsenic and its preparations. corrosive
subllmate, white precipftate, red precipi-
tate, biniodide of mercury cyanide of po-
tassium, hydrocyanic acid. strychnia and
all other poisonous vegetable alkaloids, and
their salts. essential oil of bitter almonds,
opium and its preparations, except para
goric and other preparations of opium,
containing less than two grains to the
ounce.
Schedule B.
"Aconite, belladonna, colchicum conium
nux Vomica, creosote, digitalis and their
pharmaceutical preparations croton OIL
chloroform, choral hydrate, sulphate Of
zinc, mineral acids. carbolic acid and OK
alic acid. without distinctly labelling the
box, vessel or paper In which the said
POISON is contained. and also the outside
wrapper or cover with the name of the
article, the word poison and the name
and place of business Of the seller Nor
shall 1t be lawful for any person to sell or
deliver any poisons enumerated in sched-
ules A and b, unless upon due inquiry it
De round that the purchaser Is aware of its
poisonous character and represents that it
Is to be used for legitimate purpose.
NOR snail 1t be lawful for any registered
pharmacist to sell any poisons included in
schedule A without. before delivering to
the purchaser, causing an entry to be
made in book kept for that purpose.
stating the date of sale, the name and quail
lty or the poison sold, the purpose for
which it is represented by the purchaser
to be required, and the name of the dis.
penser; such book to be always open for
the inspection of the proper authorities.
and to be preserved for reference for at
least five years. The provisions of this
section shall not apply to the dispensing of
poisons in not unusual quantities or doses
upon the prescriptions of practitioners of
medicine
The penalty for violating these provisions
is fine of not less than SO or more than
800.
Section 16 provides that it shall be the
duty of the United States attorney for the
District of Columbia to prosecute all vio-
lators of the act.
A Talk With District Attorney Davis.
United States District Attorney Henry E.
Davis was asked by The Star reporter this
morning to give his views on the present
laws governing the sale of poisons in the
District of Columbia, and his ideas as to
the necessity of better legislation on the
subject.
1.-The law at present. II properly en-
forced" said Mr.. Davis, us a good law.
There is one difficulty about 1t. however,
and that is inherent in the subject matter
itself. There ought not to be any poison
allowed to be sold without either the pre-
scription OF q physician for the particular
instance. or in cases in which the drug
gist has been previously made aware by a
reputable physician that the person ap-
plying for the poison needs 1t in reasona-
BILE quantity from time to time, as In the
case OF thoSe addicted to the morphine
habit, but no druggist ought to be per-
mitted. except in very extreme cases of
exigency, if at all, to sell a poison as the
law now permits 1t to be sold, upon his
finding, on what he considers due Inquiry
that the purchaser is aware of its poison
Gus character, and the mere representa-
ton Of the purchaser that 1t Is to be used
for legitimate purpose.
Take, for example. the case of a person
applyiI to druggist for arsenic" con-
tinued Mr.. Davis. According to the law
as 1t now stands. the druggist is permitted
TO sell arsenic ". upon inquiry, he finds
that the customer knows the poisonous
character of arsenic and represents that II
is to be used for killing rats. This is mani
testify absurd, for the reason that no in
tending suicide or murderer would AJAX
for anything except what he knew before
hand to be deadly poison, and in order to
obtain 1t. 1t is merely necessary that he
should tell lie.
The Difficulties Presented.
What mean by the difficulty being in
herent in the subject matter of the law ia.
for instance, that in the case Of one adj
dicted TO the morphine habit, who is a
stranger to the druggist, the unfortunate
victim Of the habit frequently really needs
the drug when a physician is not at hand
to prescribe 1t, and even getting a prescrip-
ton would involve what might seem an