The Washington times., 1922-09-30
FOWLER
" D III D
' BAN SALE
7. M. Gibbs, Boy Victim, Hold
ing Own, Doctors at Hos
pitaI Report.

P'hot SNSHSS
Var was declared today on the
unwarranted dispensation of hyp-
motto drugs, including veronal, by
DR.. William C. Fowler, District
Health Officer.
81 am absolutely opposed to
the dispensing of these hypnotics
except on the advice and prescrlp-
tion of a responsible physician"
said DIR. Fowler. "All such prod.
ucts, taken to alleviate pain, are
far safer if dispensed on such
authority. Disregarding the habit
forming possibilities of veronal
and allied drugs, the patient
might have some diseased organic
condition, such as a weak heart,
communicating the use of such
drugs, certainly in large doses.
This would be apparent to a ply
sician, but not to a druggist"
Victim Holding Own.
DR.. Fowler's attention was drawn
to the matter by the case of twenty.
two-year.old Thomas NJ. Gibbs. OF
Cropley, Md. and Washington, who
lies in a deep coma at Georgetown
University Hospital as the result of
swallowing a solution thought to
have contained 100 grains OF
veronal. Early in the day, Gibbs,
who has been unconscious more
than forty hours, was thought to be
dying. Later II was said by DR.. F.
A. Yeszo. of the hospitals house
staff that Gibbs was holding his
own.
I'VE know. however" said DR..
Yeszo, that nearly all of these cases
have A fatal eventuality. owing to
exhaustion of the patients system.
Unable to Do Anything.
We can do nothing to bring
Gibbs out of his coma. nature alone
Is capable Of that. IL his heart and
respiratory apparatus can stand the
strain, he has a chance to recover.
But his constitution is not strong"
Despite the fact that such authori.
ties on drugs as Sollman, whose
treatises are most popular with the
District health office and physicians
generally, declares veronal more pow.
erful than chloral, a drug placed in
the habit-forming class, and pro.
durable only on a non-refillable pre-
scription. a reporter for The Wash.
ington Times had no difficulty in
securing much veronal sodium as
he wanted.
In one drug store he bought a
bottle containing ten five-grain tab.
let's of the hypnotic preparation. tell.
ing the dispenser he had suffered
from inSnT1onia nd a. o,-l
recommended. The fifty grains con.
stituted a danger dose, according to
the pharmacist, who warned the pur-
chaser against taking more than one
tablet.
Denies IL Forms Habits.
"A lot of people, not getting i'm.
mediate effects from one tablet. 20
on and take more. That's a verv
had thing" declared the man in the
white jacket. He maintained veronal
Is not habit forming. Therein he diff.
fered from the health officer.
'All hypnotic drugs are habit.
forming II taken for alienation Of
a permanent condition" averred DR..
Fowler. Desired results in n case,
say. Of chronic insomnia are con.
tinuously attainable only by Increas.
ing the dassage.
Sollman's pharmacopeia aft er not.
Ing that "veronal is more powerful
than choral and more analgesic
main n-alleviating)" goes on to note
that acute poisoning cases are rath.
er frequent" and that fatal cases
have been known to result from a
dose Of from ten to fiften grains"
Effective in Delirium Tremens.
The United States pharmacopeia
says the use of veronal is indicated
In nervous insomnia. mania and de.
lirium, and that II is highly cffcc.
tive in delirium tremens" the proper
dosage being fivetenths OF a gram
(eight grains) three times daily. If
such an affection as the D. T.'s would
Weld to its influence, 1t can be judged
what power is possessed by dose
OF 100 grains.
The usual dose in insomnia, says
the pharmaCopeia. is five.tenths of
n gram, which induces deep,
dreamless sleep after one.half an
hour"
The drug has an unusually Gu
mulative effect. about % per cent
remaining uneliminated in the body,
or should be so that its use must
he stopped after ono week. The
symptoms of chronic addition to
Neronal are described as ''Confu.
sion, ataxia and anacmia." 1t is so
repugnant to some users that II
causes the breaking out of splotches
over the body, and often brings on
nausea. The tablets obtained by
reporter. put out by a well-known
chemical company. are labeled
'Veronal sodium" While the dose
is set forth as from one 10 two
grains as q hypnotic, there is no
warning on the label against the
effects OF an overdose.
= Denies Amy Negligence.
Gibbs father, Charles b. Gibbs,
living at 1887 North Capitol street,
today ContradiCated reports that his
son was taken from this address
to tho hospital.
MY son went to his home at
Croplcy. Md. nine miles out the
Conduit road Thursday night and
told his wife be had bought a pint
of corn liquor" said Gibbs, who Is
employed IL, the Government Print.
ing Office. He also had some tab.
le4s which he said an old soldier
haH given him TO relieve headache.