Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
February,  1911.  j 
Anti-Narcotic  Legislation. 
69 
per  ounce.  Prior  to  1898  cocoa  leaves  and  cocaine  were  admitted 
free  of  duty,  but  the  alkaloid  bore  a  duty  of  25  per  cent,  ad  valorem 
up  to  1909.  The  Tariff  Bill  of  1909  placed  a  duty  of  five  cents  per 
pound  on  cocoa  leaves  and  of  $1.50  per  ounce  on  cocaine.  The 
General  Appropriation  Bill  passed  May  27,  1908,  fixing  the  appro- 
priation for  the  Post  Office  Department  of  the  United  States,  con- 
tained the  following  words : 
"  No  part  of  the  appropriation  herein  made  shall  be  used  for  the 
carrying  in  the  mails  of  any  malt,  vinous,  or  intoxicating  liquors,  or 
intoxicating  liquors  of  any  kind ;  or  any  cocaine  or  derivative 
thereof." 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  on  February  26,  1909,  The  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  on  National  Health 
passed  the  following  resolution  : 
"  We  favor  a  prohibitory  tariff,  internal  revenue  tax,  and  other 
means  which  will  restrict  the  use  of  cocaine,  its  substitutes  and  de- 
rivatives, to  medical  purposes.^' 
The  revised  penal  laws  of  the  United  States,  which  took  effect 
January  i,  19 10,  and  which  were  compiled  under  the  direction  of  one 
of  the  Congressmen  from  our  own  State,  the  Hon.  R.  O.  Moon,  gave 
the  Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States  the  power  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  cocaine  through  the  mails. 
With  these  thoughts  on  the  national  legislation,  let  us  turn  our 
attention  to  what  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  legislation  on  the 
subject  of  narcotics  by  the  various  States.  Forty-five  States  have 
passed  legislation  prohibiting  the  sale  of  cocaine  except  when  sold 
under  the  prescription  of  a  doctor.  Twenty-four  of  the  States  regu- 
late the  sale  of  opium  and  its  derivatives,  and  thirteen  restrict  the 
sale  of  chloral.  There  are  three  States  that  have  not,  as  yet, 
passed  any  legislation  on  the  subject  of  narcotics.  A  few  States — 
and  I  am  proud  to  say  Pennsylvania  is  one — make  it  a  crime  to  have 
cocaine  in  your  possession. 
With  this  great  variance  between  the  laws  of  the  various  States 
and  the  laws  of  the  national  government,  let  us  consider  for  a  mo- 
ment in  what  a  chaotic  condition  is  this  general  subject,  so  important 
to  the  welfare  of  the  citizens  of  our  great  country.  Dr.  Hamilton 
Wright,  who  has  been  placed  by  President  Taft  in  a  position  of 
