The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-01-29
GOVERNMENTW|LL
. TAB EVERY GRAIN
Of OPIUM DRUG
~ g. ---------
Recent Federal Law Requires
Dealers TO Keep Record Of
/. -, Poppy Derivatives
COMPULSORY REGISTRY
AND TAX IS IMPOSED
Collector cottrilI Preparing to Put
Law Into Effect On
L.. March First

After March |, unless you are
or dentist, or veterinary sur
geon, If you should produce or sell, buy,
give away, dispense OF have in your
possession opium or cocoa leaves, their
salts derivatives or preparations, and
cannot produce a slip OF paper to show
how you disposed Of said articles, or
how YOU came in possession Of them,
you will stand chance OF going 10
prison for Ave years, being fined $4,000
or having both penalties imposed on
you.
Careful Record Required
And il you are a physician, or den.
list, or veterinary surgeon you must
keep a careful record OF all such drugs
dispensed, with the date aud the name
and address of the patients on slip
of paper. III ~.
Incidentally, these little slips Of
paper must be kept on Gle for two
years and be produced whenever asked
for by properly authorized official
or the same five years in prison or
5000 fine applies.
Dealers Must Register
Furthermore, IL your vocation is such
that you handle opium in any Of It's
forms you must register your name and
place of business with the internal reye.
puc collector Of your district. And
when you are entered upon this register
you must pay tax of ~ per annum.
IL you do not do this the prison and
fine again menace you.
Purchaser Must Give Receipt
And IL you are druggist you must
not dispense the opium IN any form
only ,on a written prescription or order,
and you must keep this slip Of paper
also for a period Of two years from
the date ON which the prescription or
order was filed. If il Is ON order YOU
mnst issue a duplicnte slip OF paper
recording the sale to the purchaser.
Yon must. also ask the purchaser to
Eeire youta receipt for the'sale and tho
purchaser must keep his half OF tho
duplicate for two years. If this Is not
done the same prison aud the anme
fine loom up. d
Statements Are Required t
What is more, any person who regis
tiers as having opium in his possession
for commercial purposes, or otherHs-e,
shall be, required at any time on o.
mand OF the proper officials to furnish
a statement setting forth the quantity
Of opium received by him for I period
not exceeding three months previous to
the day on which the demand for the
statement was made. The same penal.
ty applies for violation Of this proyi-
sion. +
Two Outs From Penalties
There are only two 'souts = from the
penalties. One is that duly authorised
officers OF the government, state, terri
tory, county or municipality lawfully
engaged in purchasing and dispensing
opium need not register or pay the spe-
eial tax.
The other "ontn is that no penalty
will attach to traffic in proportions and
remedies which DO not contain more
than two grains Of opium, or more than
one'fourth Of a grain OF morphine, or
more than one-eighth of grain Of
heroin, or more than one grain Of cod
cine, or any salt or derivative OF any
of them in one fluid ounce, or, il q.
solid or semi.solid preparation, in one
avordupois ounce; or 70 liniments, ONT
nients and other preparations which
contain eccaine or any Of its salts or
alpha or beta eueaine or any Of their
salts or any synthetic substitute for
them. Y
And even then you must be able TO
prove that you did not sell these to
evade the rules laid down above.
Uncle Sam Draws Lines
All this means that Uncle Sanl =
drawing his lines closer and closer TO
keep his finger tips on the opium traf-
lic. On Deeember M, President Wilson
approved an act ofscongress which con
tains the above regulations 1t Is gem
orally conceded that the purpose il not
TO obtain revenue from the act but 10
keep as absolute tab as possible on
opium traffic.
20. Al Cottrill. collector internal reva--
me for this district, Is now busily
engaged in preparing hist OF dealers
in the district who handle opium and
these will be sent out az soon as the
| list is prepared, lie also will soon have
stock Of the slips Of paper aforemen-
| toned.
Dealers Must Register
Discussing the subject yesterday Mr..
Cottrill said;
Naturally we have no means OF
asccrtaining dealers in opium except
as we can trace them through ordinary
cepnnels and records. 4 would be
pleased If you would Announce that all
persons in this district who have any
dealings whatsoever In opium would
either write to me or much more pre-
ferahy call on me and register. IL