40 POWDERED VEGETABLE DRUGS 



from him to the one giving the guarantee. The pharmacist should 

 be prepared to test all of the drugs which he handles as to their quality 

 and purity. 



II. U. S. P. STANDARDS AND DEFINITIONS OF STANDARDS 



There has been considerable confusion regarding the names of drugs 

 and the U. S. P. standards of quality and purity. It would be highly 

 desirable to formulate suitable legal definitions which would serve as 

 standards under the pure drugs laws, national and state. 



The present U. S. P. and N. F. definitions are in many instances 

 unsatisfactory as a guide for those who are called upon to enforce the 

 law. The chief source of the confusion and misunderstanding is due 

 to the fact that it is difficult to harmonize the archaic legal phraseology 

 with modern scientific terminology. 



The Bureau of Chemistry has from time to time formulated stand- 

 ard definitions, largely of spices and food products concerning which 

 dispute has arisen in court proceedings, which definitions are published 

 in the Service and Regulatory Announcements. So far the Bureau 

 has not seen fit to change the U. S. P. and N. F. definitions (purity 

 rubric) , but attempts have been made, through inquiry among special- 

 ists in pharmacy and pharmacognosy, to arrive at better definitions 

 regarding some of the drugs of vegetable origin. The federal Insect- 

 icide Board has given a standard definition for insect powder and for 

 other products over which this board has jurisdiction. The federal 

 Tea Commission fixes the tea standards and the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry looks after animal food standards. 



The following definitions are believed to harmonize with the U. S. P. 

 and N. F. purity rubrics and the legal interpretations put thereon by 

 the Bureau of Chemistry. 



1. U. S. P. Drug Defined. -Any drug bearing the name of the United 

 States Pharmacopoeia, whether it is the true Latin or common name, 

 the latinized U. S. P. name, the common U. S. P. name, the technical 

 U. S. P. name, or any non-pharmacopceial name in common use and 

 commonly applied to the U. S. P. drug, must comply with the U. S. P. 

 requirement as to quality and purity. Unless such article bear some 

 other truthful qualifying label, indicating its deviation from the U. S. P. 

 standard or quality, it is legally and actually presumed to be a U. S. P. 

 article. To illustrate: the words senna, senna leaflets, Cassia acuti- 

 folia, African senna, senna leaves, Alexandrian senna, are all lawfully 

 and properly applicable to the U. S. P. senna obtained from Africa. 

 These terms refer to the leaflets (exclusive of stems, pods, seeds and 



