Norwich bulletin., 1921-10-25
Beer and Wine For
 Medicinal Purposes
Regulation Permitting Manu- facture of Beer Issued by the Ire asury Depart ment.

Washington, Oct. 24-As unexpected as a rainstorm in desert, regulations permitting the manufacture and use of beer for medical purposes were issued today by the treasury department.
 Withheld since March last, when former Attorney General Palmer held the use of beer as a medicine to be legal un- der the prohibition laws, the issuance Of the beer regulations came as a complete surprise to leaders of the dry forces, who declared there had been an understanding with the treasury that the new rules should not be promulgated until the sen ate had acted upon the pending anti-beer bill.
 Issuance of the regulations will cause redoubled efforts to effect the passage of the anti-beer measures, senate leaders i declared while Wayne B. Wheeler gen. eral counsel for Nthe anti-saloon league, described the treasury's action as Tess defensible than at any other time" Secretary Mellon, in announcing the is suance of the beer rules, declared that "the legal rights of the parties concerned being plain, the department is unable i longer to delay the issuance of these reg ulations.''
 The new rules cover comprehensively the use of beer, wines and spirituous li- quors as medicines. The amount of beer a physician may prescribe at one time for the use of the same person is limited to 2 1-2 gallons the equivalent of case but no arbitrary limit is placed upon the number of prescriptions physician may write or the same person may obtain within a given period.
 Two quarts of wine was the limit put
 
 craze, but otherwise the regulations art
 same as for beer.
 Spirituous liquors are limited to on, pint within any ten day period and alec
 hol for external use was limited to , pint to the same person at one time. ) Prescriptions for these medicines ma. be filled only by a licensed pharmacis who is also retail druggist, or licensed pharmacist in the employ of retai ! druggist.
 Prescriptions are not reliable and tn = regulations declare that a pharmacist
 should refCse to fill any prescription fo . liquor if he has any reason to believ that physicians are prescribing for othe : l than medical uses or that a patient
 securing through one or more physician quantities of intoxicating liquor in exces
 Of the amount necessary for medicina
 purposes"
 In connection with the issuance c
 prescriptions the regulations said: ''No prescription may be issued for greater quantity of intoxicating liquo
 than is necessary for use as a medicin by person for whom prescribed in .th treat atnent of an ailment from which sue patient is known by the physician to b : suffering"
 Besides beer the Regulations perm 2 the use for medicinal purposes of othe . intoxicating malt liquors such as porte
 malt extracts and similar ferTnented ma
 liquors containing one-half of one DC
 cent or more of alcohol by calume : Manufacture of these medical prepar; ' tions is confined to duly qualified brewer u on brewery premises and may be sol :. by them only in bottles and closed case 7. The right to prescribe distilled spirit - wines and mar liquors for medical pu y poses is confined by the regulations 5 such physicians as have obtained permi
 to prescribe intoxicating liquor Such y physician, the regulations state may pr n o scribe flor person upon whom he is V attendance, if after physical examinatit "a of such person or if physical examin
 ton is impracticable, upon the best i = formation obtainable, the physician b
 lieves that the inter- nal or external u
 of such liquor as a medicine by sut M person is necessary and will afford r
 lief to him from some known ailment II The new regulations, according to Sc ie retary Mellon are in accordance with t y former Attorney General Palmer inte ~ pretation of the law. Their issuance W 'N delayer, he declared, because it seem a probable that legislation would rend n n them of no advantage to those interest I'd and there was no urgent demand for tn,
 issuance.
 m However" he said flor some tf1 a past, it has been strongly urged by tho ,r interested that this department had to right longer to withhold the regulation I and that in so doing the department as denying to those interested their cle lit legal right and thereby imposing serio Id loss upon them"
 at Medical beer can be sold in only a f in states, MT. Wheeler declared in a for Id al statements and would then be us uI largely by bootleggers.''
 'Eevery brewer who has violated Ill law within 6 year is disqualified"
 said, "and we will fight every applicati as on this ground as they have practica lg all violated the law"
 r. Senator Sterling. in charge of the ar in beer measure in the senate, declared to bill would be taken up immediately a m CT disposal of the pending tax bill 3 ve innate passage"