Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  > 
•February,  1911.  J 
Anti-Narcotic  Legislation. 
73 
recommended,  for  infants  as  well  as  adults,  containing  morphine 
and  cocaine,  and  many  a  dope  fiend  to-day  can  properly  charge  the 
forming  of  that  habit  to  the  taking  of  morphine  when  a  child,  in 
patent  medicines. 
As  I  said  a  moment  ago,  the  Federal  government  cannot  prohibit 
the  use  of  cocaine  or  morphine  in  the  States ;  all  it  can  do  is  to  regu- 
late interstate  commerce  with  respect  to  it  and  prohibit  importation, 
which  will  be  done.  The  duty  rests  upon  each  individual  State,  how- 
ever, to  pass  legislation  which  will  be  uniform,  so  that  there  will  be 
no  question  of  jurisdiction;  so  that  there  will  be  no  question  of 
one  State  prohibiting  cocaine  and  another  one  permitting  it.  Penn- 
sylvania has  taken  the  lead  in  the  legislation  with  reference  to 
cocaine  and  morphine,  and  the  officials  of  Pennsylvania,  both  State 
and  municipal,  have  demonstrated  that  this  evil  can  be  dealt  with 
successfully. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  essential  features  of  Hamilton 
Wright's  Interstate  Bill : 
First:  "  That  such  an  Act  should  demand  the  registration  of  every 
person  who  imports,  produces,  manufactures,  compounds, 
distributes,  or  otherwise  handles  habit-forming  drugs  in  in- 
terstate or  foreign  commerce. 
Second:  "  That  importers,  wholesale  compounding  pharmacists,  and 
wholesale  dealers  should  pay  a  small  per-annum  tax  of  $io, 
and  that  retail  pharmacists  and  other  retail  dealers,  includ- 
ing physicians  who  buy  in  interstate  commerce  and  who 
carry  large  supplies  of  the  drugs,  should  pay  a  tax  of  from 
$1  to  $3  per  annum ;  that  every  one  engaged  in  handling 
drugs  should  register  and  pay  a  tax." 
Third:  "  That,  without  attempting  to  derive  a  revenue  beyond  the 
amount  necessary  to  administer  the  act,  all  of  the  habit- 
forming  drugs  should  have  imposed  upon  them  an  internal- 
revenue  tax  of  I  cent  an  ounce,  and  that  such  tax  should  be 
paid  by  affixing  to  packages  or  other  receptacles  containing 
the  drugs,  an  engraved  stamp,  to  be  affixed  and  cancelled 
according  to  law." 
Fourth:  "  That  all  compounds  or  preparations  manufactured  from 
the  original  tax-paid  drugs  should  be  marked  or  branded  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  show  the  payment  of  the  tax  on  the 
original  drug." 
