OFFICINAL DRUGS OF THE UNITED STATES 



By W1LI.ARD N. CivUTE. 



THE spelling-book makes a difference of only one letter 

 between the words official and officinal and the diction- 

 ary is not exactly clear as to whether it should make a distinc- 

 tion or not, but the pharmacist has no such hesitancy. By 

 official drugs he means those upon which the pharmacopeia 

 has set its seal of approval and which are regularly prescribed 

 by the physician. By officinal drugs he means those usually 

 kept in shops which may be used in domestic practice or for 

 other purposes than medicine. Some of these may be substi- 

 tuted for official drugs when the others are not obtainable. 

 There is also a long list of plants with medicinal properties 

 which could be used by the physician but which are not for 

 the very good reason that they are not as easy to obtain or are 

 more difficult to prepare. 



In the February number of this magazine, a list of the 

 official drugs of the United States was given. To this list we 

 now add all the common officinal drugs as well as some of 

 those which are no longer used. These latter will be found 

 under the title of non-officinal drugs. In most cases the parts 

 most frequently used are added after the names. 



As regards the sale of drug plants, it may be said that 

 manufacturers do not usually care to purchase small quanti- 

 ties, though they occasionally do so. If one desires to market 

 drug plants, he would do well to write to the manufacturers, 

 stating the amount of the drug he has on hand, or can collect, 

 and ask for prices. The price and the inclination of the 

 manufacturer to buy, depends often upon the supply already 



