Evening star., 1901-12-28
POISONOUS DRUGS.
DIR. woOdward's Bill to Restrict Their
Sale.


Dr. William C. Woodward. the health
officer, has reported to the District Com
missioners that legislation to restrict the
sale of poisonous drugs in the District Of
Columbia is urgently needed. DR.. Wood
ward has prepared the draft Of bill on
the subject. 1t has been submitted to the
attorney for approval as to it's legal form
and will later be presented to Congress
Among other things the bill provides that
mo person shall in the District of Columbia
compound or dispense any drug or drugs
and deliver the same to any other person
without marking on the container thereof
the name of the drug or drugs contained
therein or directions for using the same
Any person who compounds or dispenses
In said District any drug or drugs on a pre-
scription from physician shall preserve
such prescription in a book or on hle
provided for that purpose: shall number
consecutively such prescriptions as he re-
ceives them; shall write plainly and legi-
bly, on the outside of the container in
which such drug or drugs are dispensed
the number of the prescription, the date
on which such drug drugs are dis
pensed, such directions for using the same
or such memoranda as have been directed
by the prescribing physician and the name
of such physician, and shall indicate on
such container. with sufficient accuracy
for purposes Of identification, the place
where such drug or drugs were dispensed
The bill proposes a restriction of the sale
of the following drugs:
Schedule A-Aconite, arsenic and its
preparations, carbolic acid. corrosive sub
Innate. white precipitate, red precipitate,
biniodide or mercury, cyanide of potas-
sium, hydrocyanic acid, chloroform, chic
raj hydrate, poisonous vegetable alkalofds
and their salts, essential oil of bitter al
monds, opium and its preparations, except
paregoric when sold in quantities Of not
more thOn one ounce.
Snho 611n u Toll o1ohfo
mum, nux vomica, henbane, savin, ergot
cotton root, cantharides, creosote, digitalis
and their pharmaceutical preparations
croton oil, sulphate of zinc, mineral acids
and OXalic acid.
The rules governing the sale Of the drugs
mentioned in the schedule are:
mo druggist shall retail any preparation
in quantity containing a toxic adult dose
of any such poison without first. in the
case of poisons, plainly and legibly label
ing the bottle, box or paper containing the
same with the popular name Of such poi
son, and in the case of poisons and of sub
stances and compounds aforesaid labelling
the bottle, box or paper containing the
same with the word poison, an intelligi
Bile statement of the treatment of poison
Ing thereby, the name Of the owner of the
pharmacy and the address Of the place
where sold; nor unless the person to whom
the same is to be delivered be personally
known to the pharmacist or person making
the delivery be more than sixteen years Of
age ana upon due inquiry be found to be
aware of the poisonous character of the
poison, compound or substance which he
is about to receive and represents that it
is to be used for a legitimate purpose"
Nor shall it be lawful for any pharma cist
to sell any poison included In schedule A
without, before delivering the same,
making an entry or causing an entry to
be made in a book kept for that purpose,
stating the date of the sale. the names and
addresses of the persons to whom delivered
and for whom intended. the name and
quantity of the poison sold, the purpose
for which it Is represented by the pur-
chaser to be required and the name Of the
dispenser; said book shall always be open
for inspection by any officer Of the police
department and shall be preserved for ref
erence for at least five years after the
date of the last entry; provided that the
provisions of this section shall not apply
to the dispensing of poisons by or upon the
prescriptions of physicians duly authorized
to practice medicine and surgery in the
District of Columbia, except that 1t shall
not be lawful for any person to compound
or dispense more than once a prescription
containing opium or it's preparations or
derivatives, cocaine or its salts or choral
when such prescription has written or
printed on it's face the words not to be
repeated
The final section provides against the
sale of drugs to any persons habitually
addicted to their use except as may be
prescribed from time to time in writing by
a physician