AMERICAN  PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
511 
apothecary,  when  cases  of  poisoning  occur,  and  the  necessity  of 
deciding  who  are  and  who  are  not  the  genuine  apothecaries. 
Isaac  Coddington  said  that  the  law  restricting  the  sale  of 
small  quantities  of  poison,  by  rendering  the  purchase  of  larger 
quantities  easier,  would  prove  more  dangerous  by  causing  persons 
to  buy  the  larger  amount  overlooked  by  the  law,  and  lay  aside 
the  unused  portion  where  it  might  be  mistaken  for  culinary 
articles. 
Dr.  Squibb  deprecated  the  enumerating  of  poisons,  in  the  laws 
restraining  the  sale  thereof,  which  are  not  used  for  murderous 
purposes,  such  as  cyanide  of  potassium,  cannabis  indica,  cantha- 
rides,  essential  oils,  &c.  He  also  referred  to  the  absence  of  laws 
protecting  the  public  from  incapable  practitioners  of  medicine 
and  pharmacy,  and  of  those  protecting  such  as  are  capable. 
The  framers  of  the  laws  in  attempting  to  cover  too  much  ground 
have  failed  to  cover  the  chief  point  of  difficulty. 
Dr.  Percy,  of  New  York,  was  introduced  to  the  Association  by 
Dr.  Squibb,  and  was,  on  motion,  invited  to  address  the  conven- 
tion. He  spoke  of  having  aided  in  drawing  up  the  original  bill 
submitted  to  the  New  York  Legislature,  which  was  quite  different 
from  that  now  the  law,  only  two  sections  of  the  former  having 
been  passed,  yet  he  considered  so  far  as  requiring  a  registration  of 
sales  it  would  prove  useful.  The  original  bill  required  that  every 
person  who  sold  poisons  should  be  licensed  to  do  so, — the  fee 
to  be  fixed  upon  at  a  nominal  price.  This  would  make  every 
authorized  seller  of  poisons  known  to  the  officers  of  the  law, 
and  thus  facilitate  the  detection  of  the  guilty.  The  object  of 
the  law  was  not  for  preventing  suicide,  but  to  detect  the 
murderer  and  abortionist ;  and,  in  so  far  as  it  did  this,  it  would 
prove  useful. 
Edward  Parrish  expressed  himself  as  favorable  to  such  regula- 
ting laws,  but  too  many  substances  have  been  restricted.  He 
referred  to  the  decision  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society,  that  the 
only  safeguard  was  in  the  character  of  pharmaceutists  and  those 
selling  poisonous  substances.  Apothecaries,  in  his  opinion,  saved 
thousands  of  lives  by  their  vigilance,  and  were  often  blamed 
undeservedly. 
Dr.  Guthrie  remarked,  that  if  you  start  with  protection  to  the 
apothecary,  you  make  it  an  incentive  to  young  men  to  properly 
