120 
The  Use  of  Methyl  Alcohol. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
March,  1905. 
land  Pharmaceutical  Association,  that  the  poisonous  nature  of  wood 
alcohol  was  not  due  to  the  methyl  alcohol  it  contained,  but  to  its 
impurities,  especially  the  amines.  While  these  amines  may  still  add 
to  the  poisonous  nature  of  the  wood  alcohol,  the  fact  that  the  methyl 
alcohol  it  contains  is  itself  poisonous  makes  its  use  for  internal  ad- 
ministration impossible,  in  fact  criminal.  There  are,  of  course,  uses 
that  it  can  and  will  be  put  to  in  the  arts,  such  as  varnishes,  inks, 
chromo-lithographic  work,  hat  manufacturing,  etc.,  etc.,  because  of 
its  cheapness  and  the  fact  that  it  never  can  be  taken  internally* 
The  main  question  before  us  now  is  whether  it  can  safely  be  used 
for  the  extraction  of  drugs  or  the  preparation  of  liniments  or  tinc- 
tures intended  for  external  use  only.  My  opinion  is  that  it  should 
not  be  used  for  tinctures  or  liniments  because  they  may  be  at  times 
used  for  internal  use,  and  the  wood  alcohol  may  also  be  absorbed 
through  the  skin  when  used  externally.  As  to  its  use  ror  extracting 
drugs,  I  would  say  that  while  its  use  is  not  advisable,  I  really  see  no 
absolute  danger  connected  with  it,  provided  this  extraction  is  made 
only  in  those  instances  in  which  all  the  menstruum  is  evaporated  off 
at  temperatures  that  preclude  the  possibility  of  any  of  it  being  re- 
tained in  the  extract  remaining.  Thus,  in  case  of  the  preparation  of 
extract  of  stramonium,  the  drug  could  be  exhausted  with  it,  and  the 
resulting  fluid  extract  evaporated  to  a  pilular  consistency  on  a  water 
bath  with  careful  stirring  without  any  trace  of  the  methyl  alcohol  or 
any  of  its  impurities  being  retained  in  the  resulting  extract.  How- 
ever, despite  this  possibly  safe  method  of  extracting  drugs  for  mak- 
ing their  solid  extracts,  I  personally  am  not  in  favor  of  its  use  and 
would  not  advise  its  use  in  this  way  to  any  one,  because  of  the  pos- 
sible danger  of  all  of  the  methyl  alcohol  not  being  eliminated,  due 
to  the  lack  of  care  on  the  part  of  the  operator.  If  a  substance  is  a 
poison,  as  is  methyl  alcohol,  it  is  always  safest  and  advisable  to  elimi- 
nate it  from  the  armamentarium  of  the  pharmacist,  be  he  retailer, 
wholesaler  or  manufacturer.  The  temptation  to  save  some  money 
will,  however,  most  probably  always  tempt  some  people  to  use  it 
when  they  know  they  cannot  be  held  criminally  liable  for  doing  so, 
and  because  this  is  true  I  sincerely  trust  that  Congress  will  grant  the 
reduction  in  the  tax  on  ethyl  alcohol,  and  thus  largely  eliminate 
this  excuse  for  the  use  of  wood  alcohol  for  any  purpose  connected 
in  any  way  with  medicine  or  pharmacy.  In  Europe  wood  alcohol 
is  used  largely  in  the  exhaustion  of  drugs  for  the  manufacture  of 
