The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-02-26
DRUG FIENDS TO
VANISH DECLARE
CAPE DRUGGISTS
Harrison Anti.narcOtic Law
FOrbids Pharmacists Selling
Opiates To Users.
DOCTORS TOAUTHORIZE
ALL dope" NEEDED
Heavy Penalty to be Imposed on
Physicians, too, if They
Violate Law.

Members of the Cape Girardeal
Druggists Association and majorit!
of the medical fraternity met at tn,
Commercial Club last night to discus:
the new Harrison anti-narcotic law
which was recently passed by Con
gress.
This measure, which is soon to &c
into effect, will mark the passing OF
the ''dope fiend" or persons addicted
to the use of drugs. The law makes
traffic in morphine and other power
full narcotics punishable by heavy pen
alties, and forbids druggists to sell
narcotics without physicians pre-
scription.
1t also requires all dealers who sell
morphine and other similar drugs to
register with the United States In
ternal Revenue office. Every prescrip-
ton calling for these drugs must be
made out on blanks furnished ex-
clusively by the Internal Revenue Of
flee, and druggists who sell these for
hidden drugs without physicians au-
thority lays himself open to proSecu-
ton by the government.
This law will require every drug
gist in the United States to register
with the Internal Revenue office and
every physician as we'll. Druggists
will be permitted to keep forbidden
drugs in stock, but every purchase will
be recorded with the government, and
every blank upon which prescriptions
will be made out must be obtained
from the government.
This law will put an end to the
drug habit" said James A. Kinder
last night. at is an excellent measure
and every legitimate druggist is glad
it has been passed. While it does not
prevent druggists keeping the forbid
den drugs in stock, it will prevent
traffic in them. At present a person
addicted to the drug habit can enter
a drugstore and buy morphine or any
thing else, if the druggist cares to sell
direct to such consumers. This prac-
tice has been indulged in for d long
time, but its end is near.
This new law provides a heavy pen
atty for druggists who encourage
dope fiends' to continue the use of
drugs. By issuing the blanks to the
physicians, the government will also
prevent doctors ordering drugs pro-
misciously to consumers. Each doctor
will be credited with the number of
blanks he procures from the Internal
Revenue office, and those who evade
the law can be easily checked up.
"For instance, should a physician
persist in issuing prescriptions to
dope fiends' the Internal Revenue of
flee would discover the practice by
the heavy demand for these blanks.
And by this means, it will be almost
impossible for a doctor to take ad-
vantage of the law.
CAS- druggists will be forbidden to
sell to private individuals who are no;
supplied with prescriptions from phys
icians, it will put an end to the traffic
as now practiced by unscruuplous drug
men.
"But the new law is going to play
havoc with hundreds of cough syrups
A great many of these remedies con-
tain drugs and all that do can only be
sold by prescriptions furnished by
physicians and filled upon government
blanks.
"All medicines that contain drugs
will soon be on the contraband list
and druggists and physicians who vio'
late this new law will subject them,
selves to prosecution by Uncle Sam
President Coerver of the Druggists
Association addressed the meeting
and was followed by Doctors Patton
Howard, Schulz, Cunningham, Hope
Rolston, Vorbeck, O'Dell and others
Seventeen physicians were present
and ten of the eleven druggists whc
comprise the organization were pres
ent. After the discussions concerning
the new law were concluded, sand
wiehes and coffe were served.