The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-10-29
DRUG STORES
WILL NOW
Be BAR ROOMS
Treasury Department
Issues Regulations
For Sale Of Beer,
Wine and Liquor
For Medicinal Pur-
poses

poses
Washington, Oct. 24.-As unex-
pected as a rainstorm in a DESERT
regulations permitting the manu-
facture and use Of beer for me-
dicinai 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 under the pro-
hibition laws the issuance OF the
| beer regulations came as COM
| plete 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 senate had
acted upon the pending anti-beer
bill
Issuance Of the beer regulations
will cause redoubled efforts to ef-
feet the passage of the anti-beer
measure. Senate leaders declared.
while Wayne B. Wheeler, general
counsel for the Anti-Saloon league,
described the treasury's action as
/ less defensible than at any other
time"
! Secretary Mellon, in announcing
| the issuance of the beer rules. de-
clared that ta'the legal rights Of the
parties concerned being plain, the
department is unable to longer de-
lay the issuance OF these regula-
tons"
The new rules cover comprehen-
sively the use Of beer, wines and
spirituous liquors as medicines. The
amount of beer physician may
prescribe at one time for the use Of
the same person is limited to 2 IL
gallons, the equivalent Of a case,
but no arbitrary limit is placed
upon the number Of such pre-
scriptions a physician may write or
the same person may obtain with
in given period.
Two quarts of wine was the limit
put upon a single prescription for
that beverage but otherwise the
regulations are the same as for
beer.
Spirituous liquors are limited to
one pint, within any ten day period
and alcohol for external use was
limited to pint to the same per-
son at one<time.
Prescriptions for these medicines
may be filed only by licensed
pharmacist who is also a retail
druggist, or a licensed pharmacist
Ill the employ OF a retail druggist.
Prescriptions are not Reliable
and the regulations declare that a
pharmacist should refuse to fill
any prescription for liquor if he
! has any reason to believe that ply
sicians are prescribing for other
than medicinal uses CT that a pa
tient is securing through one or
| more physicians quantities of in
toxicating liquor in excess of the
amount necessary for medicinal
purposes
In connection with the issuance
of prescriptions the regulations
said:
"No prescription may be issued
for a greater quantity of intoxicat-
ing liquor than is necessary for use
| as medicine by persons for whom
prescribed in the treatment of an
ail'nent from which such patient is
known by the physician to be suf-
fering."
Besides beer the regulations per-
NIT the use for medicinal pur-
| poses Of other Intoxicating malt IL
| quors such as ale, porter, malt ex-
tracts and similar fermented malt
| liquors containing one-half of l
per cent. Or more of alcohol by
volume.
Manufacture of these medicinal
preparations is confined to duly
qualified brewers on brewry prem
ises and may be sold by them only
in bottles and closed cases.
The new regulations, according
to Secretary Mellon are in accord
ance with former Attorney General
! Palmer's Interpretation of the law
Medical beer can be sold in only
a few states, Mr.. Wheeler declared
in a formal statement and would
then be used largely by bootleg
gers
Every brewer who has violated
the law within a year is disquah-
| fed he said. land we will fight ev-
cry application on this ground as
they have practically all violated
| the law
Issuance of the regulations, he
added. was bad politics" both
from the standpoint of the temper
ance people and the brewers.
Senator Sterling. Repnai.can. in
charge Of the an:i-beer measure ir
the senate, declared the bill would
be taken up Immediately after dis
posal of the pending tax bill and
that there was no question of its
! ultimate passage"
Warnht,;1So DestrOyed