112 THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 



The sale of such articles as Paregoric, Brown Mixture, Lead and 

 Opium Wash, Dover's Powder, and many others is thus declared 

 illegal, except upon prescription. 



While the indiscriminate sale of Morphine or its salts, either in 

 bulk or in tablet or pill form must meet with the condemnation of 

 all right-thinking pharmacists, it would seem that the inclusion 

 among the prohibited articles of preparations like such enumerated 

 above, is unjustified and entirely unnecessary. It is stated that the 

 Board of Health holds the opinion that the public should not be 

 permitted to purchase cough mixtures containing a small quantity 

 of opium, as the administration of such remedies, particularly to 

 children, was accompanied with great danger. 



If this be so, then this danger has existed for many, many years, 

 and some such ordinance should have been promulgated long ago. 



We believe, however, that the opinion of the Board of Health, if 

 correctly stated, is, to say the least, debatable. 



It will, in our opinion, be difficult to convince the unprejudiced, 

 that the administration of Brown Mixture to a child, as this is 

 usually done by mothers, is a dangerous practice, or one likely to 

 produce a habit. 



We are also informed that the Health Board is of the opinion 

 that the administration of Paregoric to children, as usually prac- 

 ticed by mothers, is responsible for a greater mortality among them 

 than the administration of all other preparations of like character 

 containing opium or morphine, such as soothing syrups, etc. 



If this opinion is correctly stated, then again we would say, that 

 in our opinion, the question is certainly debatable. 



We grant that such a thing as "Paregoric Fiend" exists, but 

 do not believe that he is great in number. Besides, we fail to 

 understand how such persons would be deprived of this article, 

 when so many avenues for its obtainment are available, in spite of 

 the ordinance enacted. 



Will the mother who is supposed to have a desire to "dope'' her 

 infant, be restrained from so doing by ordinance. We doubt it 

 very much. Physicians, or at least persons in possession of a med- 

 cal diploma, and who are duly permitted to practice medicine, have 

 been found, who are willing for a fee, and that not necessarily a 

 large one, at times as low as 25c., to prescribe cocaine. 



