June, 1912.] 



505 



Drugs and Medicinal Plants. 



to say) suddenly dropped to 96 oz., 

 duriug the first three months of the 

 year. Evidently, as in the case of 

 morphine, the importers found smug- 

 gling more profitable. 



Of considerable significance against 

 violent measures of suppression was a 

 lengthy exposition by Sir Wm. Meyer, 

 identified with India, of the importance 

 of opium in domestic remedies in our 

 great Eastern Empire, the argument 

 being that thousands of the Indian 

 population were never treated by a 

 doctor, chat they obtained their medical 

 supplies at regular intervals, and that 

 among these custom and experience had 

 given a prominent place to opium and 

 its preparation. His statement of the 

 value of opium against malaria was 

 refuted, but his general observations 

 found endorsement in Sir William 

 Collins' observation, that the distinction 

 between the medical and non-medical 

 uses of opium was not so easy as 

 thought, and that he had yet to learn 

 that the therapeutical value of this drug 

 was any less because it was not ad- 

 ministered by a medical man. 



Limited Ports. 

 Turning to some of the details of the 

 Convention, the provision to restrict 

 the transit of opium through a limited 

 number of ports or places was more 

 absolute at first than finally, the quali- 

 fication that the differences of commer- 

 cial conditions should be taken into 

 account being introduced on Germany's 

 representation that she had a great 

 number of Customs Houses on her 

 frontier, the choice of any one of which 

 for exportation was dictated by celerity 

 and freight charges, and that the 

 Government could not undertake to 

 dictate to traders in this respect ; more- 

 over opium would not only be involved 

 in this restriction for that drug was 

 packed with many other substances, 

 which would also be delayed in transit 

 to the consumer. 



The proposal that the package for 

 special making should exceed 5 kilos in 

 weight was also of German initiation, 

 64 



but smaller parcels may possibly be 

 dealt with by the Universal Postal 

 Union, A motion by China that the 

 packages exported by any one country 

 per month should not exceed a certain 

 number was not accepted. 



The Position op Codeine. 

 Sir William Collins provided the con- 

 ference with the basis of its third 

 chapter, viz., that dealing with the 

 medicinal products. This was the resolu- 

 tion apply. In the proposed restrictive 

 laws to medicinal opium and the pre- 

 parations containing certain proportions 

 as indicated above. As bearing on the 

 scope of therapeutical requirements in 

 this matter, he gave particulars of 

 hospital requirements. Codeine, it will 

 be observed, was not specifically men- 

 tioned in the Convention. There was an 

 interesting argument as to the toxicity 

 of this alkaloid. Dr. Kerp (Germany) 

 maintained that it had not been estab- 

 lished that codeine creates either a 

 mania or habit. Sir Wm. Collins pointed 

 to the work of Cushmy and Sainbury to 

 the effect that codeine was, though to a 

 less extent, a drug of addiction. Mr. 

 Finger (U. S A.) urged that the primary 

 use of codeine had led to the use of 

 morphine, and Dr. Wu (China) said that 

 morphia maniacs, when morphia was cut 

 off, resorted to codeine to satisfy their 

 craviug. In the end, however, a tie in 

 the voting resulted, on the chairman's 

 refusal to give a casting vote, in the 

 British delegation reversing its decision 

 and throwing in its lot with the German 

 representatives, whose view was thus 

 adopted ; but codeine can be included in 

 the provision as regards new discoveries. 



Instruments. 

 The keenness of some of the dele- 

 gations was demonstrated in their desire 

 to apply the restrictive regulations to 

 hypodermic syringes. America and 

 France made suggestions along these 

 lines, but the British and German repre- 

 sentatives doubted the wisdom of the 

 step as it would involve another indus- 

 try, and syringes did not become noxious 

 agents unless charged with the guilty 

 fluid. 



