Am'junri9ih4arm'}       The  Patent  Medicine  Problem.  257 
American  Pharmaceutical  Association  is  once  more  set  squarely 
before  the  American  pharmacists  for  reply  or  action. 
The  patent  medicine  problem  as  it  is  now  before  the  members  of 
the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association  for  discussion,  was  out- 
lined in  an  editorial  by  the  general  secretary  of  the  Association,  in 
the  Journal  for  April,  1913  (pp.  425-428).  This  editorial  points  out 
that  the  duty  of  the  pharmacist  to  himself  and  to  the  public,  in 
connection  with  patent  medicines,  is  to  define  if  possible  the  legiti- 
mate status  for  remedies  of  this  kind,  and  to  differentiate  between 
acceptable  and  non-acceptable  preparations. 
This  proposition  was  presented  to  the  Council  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association  at  the  Nashville  meeting,  and  after 
considerable  discussion  it  was  agreed  to>  appoint  a  Commission  on 
Proprietary  Remedies  to  consider  the  following  general  propositions : 
"  1.  To  inquire  into  and  report  to  the  Council  from  time  to  time 
upon  the  general  subject  of  proprietary  medicines,  in  their  relations 
to  pharmacy,  medicine  and  the  public  health. 
"  2.  To  inquire  whether  any  of  the  proprietary  medicines,  com- 
monly -known  as  patent  medicines,  contain  alcohol  or  narcotic  drugs 
in  sufficient  amount  to  render  them  liable  to  create  a  drug  habit,  or 
to  satisfy  such  habits  where  otherwise  created. 
"3.  To  inquire  whether,  or  to  what  extent,  the  commonly  adver- 
tised patent  medicines  contain  potent  drugs  in  sufficient  amount  to 
render  them  dangerous  in  the  hands  of  the  laity. 
"  4.  To  inquire  into  the  extent  to  which  ^patent  medicines  are 
fraudulently  advertised,  or  differ  in  properties  or  origin  from  the 
claims  made  for  them,  and  the  extent  to  which  they  are  advertised 
for  the  cure  of  diseases  generally  recognized  by  the  medical  science 
as  at  present  being  incurable."  (7.  Am,  Pharm.  Assoc.,  1913,  v.  2, 
p.  1195.) 
As  the  Commission  has,  so  far  as  known,  made  no  report  to  the 
Council  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  there  is,  as 
yet,  no  indication  as  to  what  will  or  will  not  be  the  attitude  of  this 
Commission  toward  the  preparations  now  on  the  market  or  to  be 
marketed  in  the  future.  Some  idea  of  the  stand  that  must  be  taken 
by  the  members  of  the  Commission  if  they  desire  to>  make  for 
progress  rather  than  retrogression  is  evidenced  by  what  has  already 
been  accomplished,  not  alone  by  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Asso- 
ciation, but  also  by  other  related  organizations,  particularly  the 
American  Medical  Association. 
