Am  jour.  Pharm.j    Advances  in  Materia  Medica  and  Pharmacy.  t2q 
March,  1917      J  ^  ^7 
The  Sale  of  Anhalonium  to  be  Regulated. — The  Senate  passed 
a  bill,  on  the  25th  of  January,  to  amend  the  Harrison  Narcotic  Law 
so  as  to  include  within  its  provisions  anhalonium,  also  known  as 
mescale  or  muscale  buttons  and  as  pellote.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  this  plant,  of  which  the  dried  tops  are  used,  belongs  to  the 
Cactaceae  or  Cactus  Family.  Experimentation  on  animals  with  this 
drug  has  shown  it  to  be  a  powerful  narcotic  poison.  These  nar- 
cotic properties  closely  resemble  those  of  opium. 
Anent  Aspirin. — The  expiration  of  the  patent  rights  on  this 
drug  is  being  awaited  with  a  great  deal  of  interest  by  the  medical 
and  pharmaceutical  world,  and,  as  the  following  news  item  from 
one  of  the  most  prominent  daily  papers  of  the  country  suggests,  by 
the  laity  as  well.  And  well  may  the  laity  be  interested.  The 
propaganda  carried  on  by  the  patentee  in  the  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines of  this  country  in  bringing  this  drug  to  the  notice  of  the 
laity  can  have  only  one  effect  and  that  a  most  pernicious  one,  namely, 
the  encouragement  to  self-medication  on  the  part  of  the  public. 
The  news  item  follows  : 
"There  are  promises  of  lively  times  in  pharmaceutical  circles 
after  February  17,  when  the  United  States  patent  on  aspirin  expires. 
This  patent  is  held  by  the  Bayer  Company,  Inc.,  of  New  York,  the 
American  representative  of  a  German  dye  and  chemical  firm,  and 
notice  has  been  served  that  the  company  claims  the  sole  right  to  the 
name  aspirin  as  a  registered  trademark  even  after  the  patent  expires. 
Legal  action  is  hinted  at  in  case  any  other  concern  manufactures  a 
product  and  attempts  to  sell  it  under  the  name  of  aspirin. 
"  The  chemical  name  of  aspirin  is  acetyl  salicylic  acid.  Under 
the  patent  laws  of  this  country  the  Bayer  Company  has  held  a 
monopoly  on  the  product,  no  matter  what  name  it  might  be  called 
nor  what  new  and  improved  process  might  be  used  in  its  manu- 
facture. In  other  words,  during  the  life  of  the  patent,  the  United 
States  Government  virtually  took  the  position  that  all  acetyl  salicylic 
acid,  no  matter  by  whom  made,  was  *  aspirin '  and  the  sole  right 
was  vested  in  the  Bayer  Company. 
"  It  is  no  secret  that  there  are  numerous  American  firms  ready 
to  go  into  the  aspirin  business  after  next  week.  What  they  will 
call  their  product  is  not  known,  but  there  certainly  is  a  disposition  to 
use  the  name  of  aspirin  and  invite  a  test.  One  company  in  the 
Philadelphia  district,  which  has  up  to  this  time  been  perfecting  its 
phenolpthalein  manufacture,  is  about  ready  to  jump  in  on  aspirin, 
