September 17, 1870.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
239 
Communications for this Journal , and boohs for review, 
should be addressed to the Editor, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
*** No notice can be tahen of anonymous communica¬ 
tions. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenti¬ 
cated by the name and address of the writer ; not necessarily 
for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. 
The Keeping op Poisons. 
Though there has been much discussion upon the keeping 
of poisons since the passing of the Pharmacy Act, there do 
not appear to have been any regulations suggested which have 
met with general approval. Throughout the discussion my 
impression has been that legitimately the subject might be, 
and perhaps should be, allowed to subside without any imme¬ 
diate steps being taken beyond those which are already pre¬ 
scribed by the Pharmacy Act. 
Clause 1 provides that we shall conform to such regula¬ 
tions as to the keeping, dispensing, and selling of such poisons 
as may from time to time be prescribed by the Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Society, with the consent of the Privy Council. 
And clause 2 provides for a schedule of poisons, and “ the 
Council of the Pharmaceutical Society may from time to time 
by resolution” add to the schedule list. 
We are thus enabled—maybe I should say required—to 
add in two ways to the provisions of the Pharmacy Act from 
time to time. Under all ordinary circumstances I should 
have understood that to mean whenever the Society con¬ 
sidered that additions were required. 
Keeping in view the Society’s long struggle to make edu¬ 
cational qualifications the only legal restriction upon the 
dealing with poisons, and their repeated protests against 
angular bottle contrivances and other proposed substitutes 
for the responsibility of reading the label in every instance, 
I think the Society might reasonably be allowed to give a fair 
trial to regulations at present required by the Act before it 
commenced to make additions to them. But if it is required 
of us to do something more without delay, as appears to be 
the case, I would not by any means have us neglect that duty, 
though we may undertake it with some reluctance and hesi¬ 
tation. It would not do for us to prescribe any ill-con¬ 
sidered or unsatisfactory regulations, by way of showing our 
willingness to do our best, and as yet I have not seen any 
which I would willingly see enforced. 
In offering another plan for discussion, I do so upon the 
ground of its being useful as far as it goes, and its not at¬ 
tempting too much. In the keeping of poisons, each poison 
shall be kept in a box, bottle, vessel, or package distinctly 
labelled with the name of the article. 
All poisons not intended for medicinal use shall also be 
distinctly labelled “ poison ” immediately under the name of 
the article. 
All poisons to be used externally as medicines, but not in¬ 
tended for internal use, shall be labelled either with the word 
“poison,” or “for external use,” immediately below the 
name of the article. 
All poisons intended for internal use as medicines, the 
usual adult dose of which is less than one dram, shall bear a 
label immediately under the name of the article, stating the 
usual adult dose; and upon such articles the usual adult 
dose of which is less than (say 5) grains there shall be added 
the label “poison” immediately below the label indicating 
the dose. 
The code of regulations submitted to the last Annual 
Meeting proposed that all poisons should have the poison 
label attached, but considering that the number of poisons 
by Act of Parliament is very considerable, and liable to grow 
by additions from time to time,—two evils attached to it which 
are obviated in the proposition which I have just made, 
namely, that the word poison would, in the former case, be¬ 
come so common as to lose its value as a caution to the 
dealer, while it would add to the uneasiness of the patient to 
find how numerous were the poisons and how freely many of 
them were dispensed. The only articles in the present 
amended list of poisons not used in medicine are oxalic acid, 
essential oil of almonds and vermin killers; they, of course, 
would bear the poison label. 
Red and white precipitate, liniments, ointments and 
plasters containing aconite, belladonna, opium, etc., would 
naturally be labelled “ for external use.” 
The mild preparations of opium and poppies would require 
no addition to their names; the more potent tinctures of 
opium, aconite, belladonna, etc., would have the dose attached, 
as indicated in the pharmacopoeia, or such dose as might be 
fixed by some competent anthonty (say the Pharmacopoeia 
Committee), and the most potent poisons only would have 
the poison label attached. 
I have suggested 5 grains as the dose which should mark 
the boundary between the more and the less dangerous drugs, 
but this is matter for discussion, the object being to include 
all that are specially hazardous, and at the same time not to 
include too many. Arsenic should have the poison label, 
though its solutions would probably be sufficiently protected 
by having the dose indicated. So of the alkaloids, morphia 
and strychnia would have the poison label, while their liquors 
would be labelled respectively “ Dose 10 to 60 minims ” and 
“ Dose 5 to 10 minims.” 
If it be considered necessary to adopt poison cupboards, an¬ 
gular bottles or sand-paper, I think they should only be applied 
to those articles the dose of which is 5 grains and under, or 
some other limitation which shall not involve the absurdity 
of using the same precautions to all the articles in so crude a 
list as the official schedule of poisons. It is no protection to 
use an angular bottle if angular bottles become too common, 
as they would do if used for all poisons, from syrup of poppies 
to strychnine. It may be said that a label stating the dose 
would also become too common, but it would always give use¬ 
ful information, and would, when read, indicate the degree of 
danger, and the degree might be in some measure indicated 
pictorially. Thus, the most virulent might have red angular 
less dangerous having angular white labels 
and the least dangerous of the articles requiring 
to have the dose affixed should have it upon a circular green 
This arrangement would have the advantage of leaving 
any one to carry out such additional precautions as best 
suited his premises and his requirements. Many of us would 
probably put the articles with the red angular labels into a 
poison cupboard; some would also keep a separate part of 
the shop for those bearing the white angular labels; while 
those with the green circular label would come under the 
ordinary classification of alphabetical order in the wet and 
dry departments. 
Barnard S. Proctor. 
G-rey Street, Newcastle, September 6th, 1870. 
Sir,—You have invited the members of the Society to 
express their opinions as to the advisability or otherwise 
of adopting certain regulations with regard to the storing 
of poisons. 
I shall be glad if you will allow me space for a few remarks 
on the matter. 
The discussion of the subject has given rise to much ex¬ 
cited feeling, and perhaps for this reason it has obtained an 
importance it does not really deserve. 
To consider it carefully and impartially now will probably 
do much to bring about a satisfactory solution next July. 
Whatever importance the subject may have possessed be¬ 
fore the passing of the Act of 1867, it must, in my opinion, bo 
