The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-05-10
DRUGGISTS TO
GUARD PURITY
New Guide Book to be Prepared by
Convention Today Will be
Standard
PHARMACISTS MUST OBSERVE
Leaders Will Strive to Make Book
Comply With Pure Food and Drug
Laws as IL Will Now Be-
come Official Document.

Washington. ID. C. May 10-The first
session of the United States Pharma-
copoeial Convention since the passage
and coming into force Of the pure
food law began here today with a full
attendance, and will probably con-
tinue for at least a week. The United
states Pharmacopoeial convention is
an incorporated body chartered under
the laws of the District of Columbia,
July I, 1900, and is continuous. with
power to conduct revisions 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 medicines
included in II.
The last revision of the pharmaco-
poeia occurred i'm 1900. Being then
merely a standard guide, it was not en-
fcrcible by law, but now, under the
new food and drug law. the book is
an official work, the requirements of
which every pharmacist and dealer in
drugs must comply with under penalty
Cf the law The task of the revision
headed by Joseph p. Remington, of
Philadelphia will be extremely diff
cult owing to the fact that the views
OF the delegates, more or less influence
ed by the wishes of the bodies which
they represent as to the manner i'm
which the revision shall be made. are
widely divergent While some of the
Ill, 60. .rf,. fatf Of hn
pharmacopoeia to a limited list OF
drugs and medicines i'm more or less
common use, other delegates desire a
considerable extension of the scope of
the pharmacopoeia so as TO take in not
only the drugs and medicines already
mentioned i'm the last edition, but a
large number of new drugs which
have como in use since the last revi-
sion and are. therefore not described
and standardized in the book. They are
willing to concede only the dropping of
certain obsolete drugs. no longer pre-
scribed by modern practitioners.
Mary of the medical and pharma-
ceutical associations throughout the
country have passed resolutions favor
iHE Sbilt poilON III ItNlSlhS piidt-
macopoeia and there is a strong fac
tion. headed by the New York dele
gates upholding the principle that all
articles commonly included i'm the
medical stock Of the pharmacist, and
rot of proprietary nature, should be
recognized in the Pharmacopoeia, and
definite standards and tests suitable
for the use of the practicing pharma-
cst should the provided for them. in
spite of the fact that their therapeu-
tical properties may not commend
them to the better informed practi-
toner of medicine The delegates
maintain that the drugs left out would
still be used by many physicians and
it would be dangerous to leave them
without protection of a legal stand
ard.
The convention is a thoroughly rep
resentative body. Three Of the dele
gates were appointed respectively by
the surgeon general of the army. the
surgeon general Of the navy and the
surgeon general OF the Marine Hospi-
tai service. while other delegates rep
resent the Bureau Of Chemistry of the
Department of Agricultural and nearly
every important medical and pharma-
ceutical college and association in the
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