Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-05-05
ANT|NARCOT|C ACT IS
STRICTLY emf 0RCED
Prohibits PromlscuOus Use of Habit
Forming Drugs and
OpiateS.
COMPLETE RECORD is KEPT
Deprivation Of Accustomed Stimulant
Has Driven Many Dope Fiends to
Seek Cure In City Hospital and
Other Asylums.

That the antinarcotic act. which went
into effect on March /. and has for its
purpose the prohibition OF promiscuous
use of harmful drugs. will be rigidly
enforced in this district was the decla-
ration yesterday OF j. IL. Grasty, who
is connected with the Internal Revenue
Department as special agent Of the gov
eminent in the enforcement of this act.
Few laws said Mr.. Grasty. have met
with AS hearty approval from those
upon whom the responsibility OF Its
proper enforcement will mainly depend
rs has the Harrison act and he ex-
poets 1t TO be eminently successful in
It's operations. The druggists and ply
sicians OF Richmond are lending their
best efforts to that end and letters
or indorsation have been received from
T. a. Miller, of the state Board OF
Pharmacy. and from Albert Bolen-
baugh. dean OF the Medical College OF
virginia. II is Endorsed also by all
officers of the State government.
fhe Harrison act provides that the
amount OF raw opium and cocoa leaves
received by each manufacturing drug
gist shall be noted. and that there
shall re nh inventory once every year
OF the goods on hand The shipments
TO wholesalers and jobbers during the
year must be kept on file and given to
the Inspector of the district. and the
total Of these with the amount OF drugs
on hand must tally with the original
stock laid in. else there has been a
violation of the law, and those re-
sponsible are liable to prosecution.
ALL SHIPMENTS ARE
MADE MATTERS Of RECORD
All shipments to wholesale druggists
are noted by the inspectors in whose
dlstrict the wholesalers arc, and the
stock on hand at tho end of the year
must tally exactly with the difference
hetwccn the amount of the sales for
the year and the amount purchased.
the druggists. physicians, dentists
and vetinary surgeons who distribute
the "piates. are KEEP: track OF by the
nsnectors who have that work in
charge They receive inventories ot
saiers and jobbcrs Druggists cannot
sell the narcotics except upon a phv-
sician's prescription, and these must
he kept on file two years and cannot
be rcttlled. From these records it can
be easily determined whether the drugs
have been used promiscuously.
All persons who handle these drugs
In any way must register with the
collector of internal revenue Of their
district. and forms suitable for records
OF their dispensation will be furnished
thom at nominal price. The local
Office force was worked day and night
In the effort to give as little incon-
venience as possible to the physicians
ana druggists q! tho district.
WORKS HARDSHIP on
HABtTUAL USERS OF DRUGS
The new law has worked untold
temporary hardship on the unfortu-
mates addicted 10 the drug habit. and
the City Hospital is caring for number
of them who have applied for cure.
Use OF the drug is tolerated only with
those who arc suffering with an in
durable disease. The opiate victims
are usually stingy with their secrets.
and 1t Is hard proposition to secure
information regarding its use
II Is possible to effect permanent
cure Of this habit Mr.. Grasty cites
an instance of n woman, seventy years
old. who had been addicted to tho use
OF the drug for years. and after the
trca tmcnt administered at IN. CITY
Hospital, she lost all desire for the
narcotic to which she had become n
slave. and seems to be permanently
cured.
1t is expected that when the supply
of drugs on hand is exhausted and the
drug victims face the knotty PROPOSE
tion OF securing more, there will be
a decided Increase in the number OF
patients at the hospitals
since the Harrison act went into cf-
feet one Of the state hospitals for
the insane has received thirty patients
from the ranks OF drug victims