The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-05-10
To GUARD PURITY
Of DRUGS

Washington. D. c., May 10.-The
first session of the United States
Pharmacopoeial convention since the
passage and coming into force of the
pure food law began here today with
a full attendance, and will probably
continue for at least week. The
United States Pharmacopoeial con-
vention is an incorporated body
chartered under the laws of the Dis
trict of Columbia, July Z, 1900, and
is continuous, with power to conduct
revisions of the United States Phar-
macopoeia under the constitution and
bylaws framed by the convention.
The present session of the conven-
| ton is of exceptional Importance, as
it will deal with the task of under
taking a thorough revision of the
United States Pharmacopoeia which,
under the pure food law, will be the
standard for the purity, strength and
composition of all drugs and medi-
cines included in it.
| The last revision of the pharma-
copoeia occurred in 1900. Being
then merely a standard guide, 1t was
not enforcible by law, but now, I'M
| der the new food and drug law, the
book is an official work, the require
ments of which every pharmacist and
dealer in drugs must comply with
under penalty of the law. The task
of the revision committee of the
present convention, headed by DR..
Joseph P. Remington of Philadelphia
will be extremely difficult owing to
the fact that the views of the dele
gates, more or less Influenced by the
wishes of the bodies which they rep
resent, as to the manner in which the
revision shall be made, are widely
divergent. While some of the dele
gates favor a restriction of the phar-
macopoeia to limited list of drugs
and medicines in more or less COM
mon use other delegates desire con-
siderable extension of the scope of
| the pharmacopoeia, so as to take in
not only the drugs and medicines al
ready mentioned in the last edition,
| but a large number of new drugs
which have come in use since the last
revision and are, therefore, not de-
scribed and standardized in the book.
They are willing to concede only the
dropping of certain obsolete drugs,
no longer prescribed by modern prac-
titioners.
Many of the medical and pharma-
ceutical associations throughout the
country have passed resolutions IA
voring some policy in revising the
pharmacopoeia and there is a strong
faction, headed by the New York
delegates, upholding the principle
that all articles commonly included
in the medical stock of the pharma-
cist. and not of a proprietary nature,
should be recognized in the Pharma-
| copoeia, and definite standards and
tests suitable for the use of the prac-
ticing pharmacist should be provided
for them, in spite of the fact that
their therapeutical properties may
not commend them to the better in
formed practitioner Of medicine. The
delegates maintain that the drugs
left out would still be used by many
physicians and it would be danger
Gus to leave them without protection
of legal standard.
The convention is a thoroughly
representative body. Three OF the
delegates were appointed respective
" by the Surgeon General OF the Ar
my, the Surgeon General of the Ma
w and the Surgeon General of the
Marine Hospital Service, while other
delegates represent the Bureau OF
Chemistry of the Department OF Ag-
riculture and nearly every lmpor'
tant medical and pharmaceutical col
lege and association in the country