322 
Cheap  Drugs. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
July,  1902. 
(5)  Additional  admixture  in  the  store  or  warehouse  is  a  subject 
that  I  do  not  need  to  dwell  upon.  Many  admixtures  undoubtedly 
arise  in  this  way,  for  it  is  only  in  some  such  manner  as  this  that  the 
presence,  for  instance,  of  allium  in  asclepias  could  be  accounted  for. 
On  account  of  the  limited  time  at  my  disposal,  and  also  because 
this  subject  has  been  so  frequently  and  generally  considered,  I 
merely  wish  to  give  one  thought  in  connection  with  the  subject  of 
admixture,  sophistication,  adulteration  and  substitution. 
The  drugs  coming  from  foreign  countries  are  examined  at  the 
customhouse  before  they  are  admitted,  and  the  spurious  ones  are 
likely  to  be  rejected.  This  has  been  most  beneficial  to  the  com- 
merce of  drugs  in  increasing  their  quality.  Collectors  and  distribu- 
tors cannot  afford  to  have  the  cases  of  rejected  goods  thrown  back 
on  their  hands,  or  finally  sold  in  some  quarters  at  50  per  cent, 
under  current  rates.  Foreign  dealers  have,  therefore,  learned  the 
wisdom  of  supplying  the  better  grades  of  drugs,  and  adulterated 
specimens,  as  of  opium,  are  becoming  rare.  Inferior  drugs  do,  how- 
ever, sometimes  find  their  way  into  the  market.  While  it  is  believed 
that  considerable  laxity  has  prevailed  in  the  Appraiser's  Depart- 
ment, still  this  inspection  on  the  whole  has  tended  to  improve  the 
quality  of  imported  drugs. 
From  a  limited  observation  I  am  inclined  to  consider  that  Ameri- 
can drugs  are  equally,  if  not  more,  inferior  in  quality  as  a  rule  than 
those  imported.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  an  internal  Governmental 
inspection  could  be  made  of  our  domestic  drugs,  it  would  have 
a  most  beneficial  influence  on  their  quality. 
I  am  aware  of  the  difficulties  attending  legislation  of  this  kind, 
and  of  some  of  the  reprehensible  practices  of  those  vested  with  the 
authority  of  the  law  ;  still  progress  is  being  made,  and  the  attitude  of 
the  Board  of  Pharmacy  in  New  York  State  is  commendable  in  so 
far  as  it  applies  to  the  retail  pharmacist  there ;  but  this  does  not 
seem  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  trouble.  In  my  opinion  there 
should  not  only  be  careful  and  rational  inspection  of  the  goods  ot 
the  retail  pharmacist,  but  also  of  the  products  of  the  jobbers  and 
collectors. 
As  things  are  conducted  at  present,  the  main  responsibility  lies 
with  the  retail  druggist ;  and  while  I  do  not  deem  it  advisable  to 
reduce  his  responsibilities,  still  the  more  all  concerned  share  in  this 
responsibility,  the  greater  and  more  rapid  will  be  the  improvement, 
