THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL. 
SECOND SERIES. 
« 
VOL. XI.—No. I.—JULY, 1869. 
PREVENTION OF THE MISUSE OF POISONS. 
From remote periods of antiquity up to the present time the dread of poison 
has influenced men’s minds to a greater or less extent, sometimes affecting whole 
classes of the community among whom a wide-spread suspicion of evil design has 
arisen where confidence ought to exist, and at other times occurring as the result 
of some fatal accident, or the perpetration of an exceptional crime. The public 
naturally look to those who are entrusted with the safe-keeping, the sale, and 
the dispensing of poisons, for the adoption of such special precautions as may 
be suggested by cases, when they occur, which present any marked or peculiar 
features, and it is important, therefore, that such cases should be brought pro¬ 
minently under the notice of those who may profit by the study of them. Al¬ 
though we are by no means disposed to admit that the prevention of poisoning, 
by design or misadventure, is the only or even the principal object, the further¬ 
ance of which may be expected to result from the operation of the laws relating 
to the practice of pharmacy, yet the Act of last year being ostensibly designed 
“ to regulate the sale of poisons,” it is incumbent on those who have the carry¬ 
ing of the law into effect to see that all that is possible is accomplished for the 
protection of the public, not only by the means indicated in the Act, but also 
by any other means with which those can £>e supplemented. 
There are two cases reported in another part of this Journal which present 
some points to which the attention of dispensing chemists may be profitably 
directed. These cases have both excited a great amount of public interest, on 
account of the circumstances attending them, and the prominent positions occu¬ 
pied by the unfortunate gentlemen whose lives have been sacrificed. 
Mr. Guinness, of Dublin, had been for some time suffering from general de¬ 
bility and a weak action of the heart, and his medical attendant had prescribed 
for him a mixture, the prescription for which was as follows- 
“ Ammonise Carbonat. 5 ij 
Tinct. Cinchon. Comp, f^ss 
Aq. Cinnamomi f£j 
Infus. Cinchona; flav. f^ivss 
M. Sumat f*j cum f^ss succ. limon. recent, bis in die. 
Send lemon juice.” 
This prescription had been prepared at one of -the leading dispensing esta¬ 
blishments in Dubin, and the patient having repeatedly taken the medicine was 
acquainted with its appearance and other properties. A fresh supply of the 
medicine having been obtained, it was observed to be different in appearance 
from what it had been previously. Not only the patient, but also a clerk in 
the office, observed this difference, and Mr. Guinness took it back to the esta¬ 
blishment where it had been prepared, and had it made up again. The colour 
was this time more like what it had originally been, and a dose of it was taken, 
VOL. XI. B 
