Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
December,  18£9.  j 
Editorial. 
599 
EDITORIAL. 
THE  REVISION  OF  THE  U.  S.  PHARMACOPOEIA  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS. 
As  the  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  delegates  of  the  Decennial  Convention  of 
the  1900  Pharmacopoeia  approaches,  considerable  interest  in  the  work  to  be 
undertaken  is  manifested  by  nearly  all  of  the  members  representing  both  the 
professions  of  medicine  and  pharmacy.  That  there  are  many  problems  to  come 
before  the  Convention  is  very  apparent,  but  there  are  some  problems  which 
are  of  more  than  ordinary  importance  and  which  will  require  for  their  final 
solution  the  most  liberal  conservatism  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  the 
Convention  and  of  the  Committee  on  Revision.  Very  fortunately  we  are 
able  at  this  time  to  give  our  readers  a  paper  (see  this  Journal^  p.  559)  from 
the  pen  of  Dr.  Charles  Rice,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Revision  of  the 
United  States  Pharmacopoeia,  which  will  command  thoughtful  attention  from 
all  of  the  intelligent  pharmacists  and  physicians  of  the  United  States.  We 
may  further  add  that  the  members  of  these  professions  throughout  the  world 
are  anxiously  awaiting  the  results  of  the  decisions  of  the  National  Convention 
as  well  as  the  Revision  Committee.  With  the  revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia 
for  1890  great  advances  were  made.  Bvery  step  that  was  taken  was  in  the 
direction  of  true  progress.  The  processes,  tests,  descriptions,  etc.,  of  drugs 
and  chemicals  were  in  general  uniformly  satisfactory.  The  emancipation  of 
the  Pharmacopoeia  from  the  publishing  trade  and  setting  it  upon  an  independent 
basis,  so  that  the  proceeds  might  be  used  in  the  making  of  researches  for  the 
coming  revision,  was  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  important  steps  taken. 
The  three  most  important  problems  which  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  next 
National  Convention  and  Revision  Committee  to  act  upon  with  all  the  force  of 
imperative  necessity  are  those  treated  by  Dr.  Rice. 
It  is  recommended  ' '  that  the  next  Committee  of  Revision  be  authorized  to 
introduce  doses  into  the  Pharmacopoeia  (details  to  be  left  to  the  Committee)." 
This  is  not  a  new  subject,  but  one  which  has  been  discussed  on  many  occa,- 
sions,  and  while  we  may  say  (1)  that  there  has  been  little  or  no  progress  in 
establishing  the  subject  of  posology  on  a  scientific  basis  ;  (2)  that  the  pharma- 
cist and  physician  are  generally  conversant  with  the  more  or  less  recognized 
doses  of  all  the  potent  drugs  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  ;  (3)  that  really  the  medi- 
cines on  which  the  members  of  the  professions  desire  greatest  enlightenment 
as  to  their  respective  doses  are  not  those  that  are  likely  to  be  inserted  in  the 
Pharmacopoeia  ;  (4)  that  it  is  almost  as  difficult  to  say  what  shall  constitute  a 
dose  as  what  is  a  poison,  and  (5)  that  in  those  potent  drugs  and  preparations  which 
are  not  standardized,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  give  accurate  doses  ;  it  must  be 
admitted,  however,  ( 1 )  that  it  would  seem  that  the  introduction  of  average  doses 
into  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  chemicals  and  isolated  active  principles  is  quite  possi- 
ble ;  (2)  that  the  development  of  a  system  of  average  dosage  ought  likewise  to  be 
possible  with  the  progress  in  improved  methods  in  the  standardization  of  the 
toxic  drugs  and  their  preparations  ;  (3)  that  it  may  tend  to  develop  more  sci- 
ence and  greater  accuracy  in  every  department  of  medicine  ;  (4)  that  it  will 
cause  the  conflicting  statements  as  to  doses  of  drugs  by  different  investigators 
and  writers  to  be  reduced  to  a  uniform  standard,  and  finally  (5)  that  it  may,  as 
Dr.  Rice  suggests,  increase  the  interest  of  the  physician  in  the  work. 
The  second  recommendation  is  that  "  The  Committee  be  authorized  to  intro- 
