The  Study  of  Drugs. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
March,  1919. 
To  the  man  who  bewails  that  there  is  no  future  in  pharmacy,  to 
the  young  man  looking  for  an  opening,  I  commend  a  study  of  the 
foregoing  definition  of  drugs,  as  a  possible  chance  to  secure  a  foot- 
hold for  himself  and  to  "  cash  in  "  on  his  diploma.  In  other  words, 
I  commend  to  him  a  study  of  drugs. 
Materia  medica  and  therapeutics  today  present  a  broader  and  a 
wider  field  than  ever  before  in  their  history.  Drugs  need  more  than 
ever  the  careful  study  of  the  trained  mind  of  the  pharmacist.  Phar- 
macy is  not  the  selling  of  cigars,  soda  water,  confectionery,  station- 
ery and  knick-knacks,  although  it  is  true  that  these  may  by  force, 
form  a  part  of  the  modern  stock,  and  must  be  dealt  in  to  keep  the 
business  going.  Pharmacy  is  not  the  simple  selling  of  drugs,  or 
handling  them  over  the  counter  in  prepared  packages.  Real  phar- 
macy is  the  integral  part  of  the  great  science  of  medicine  and  surgery, 
and  has  to  do  with  all  the  allied  applications  of  the  healing  art.  Yea, 
it  even  extends  out  to,  and  has  to  do  with,  hygiene,  and  the  wonder- 
ful coming  forme  of  preventive  medicine. 
The  pharmacist  should  know,  from  its  beginning,  every  sub- 
stance in  any  way  connected  with  the  application  of  these  sciences. 
He  should  know  them  from  a  to  z,  in  their  every  aspect.  How  else 
can  he  be  a  pharmacist,  or  become  a  master  of  his  calling? 
He  should  know  drugs,  and  all  there  is  to  be  known  about  them. 
Ordinarily  the  pharmacist  learns,  either  in  his  apprenticeship  or  the 
college,  the  names  of  the  most  commonly  used  drugs,  and  the 
preparations  made  therefrom.  Perhaps  he  memorizes  the  doses  of 
potent  drugs.  The  rest  of  his  knowledge  is  gained  from  the  label, 
or  a  quick  reference  to  the  Dispensatory,  or  to  the  manufacturer's 
catalogue. 
Few  pharmacists,  especially  the  younger  men,  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  even  a  quarter  of  a  hundred  drugs.  How  many  can 
speak,  upon  their  own  authority,  as  to  the  pharmacology  and  the 
therapy  of  any  appreciable  percentage  of  the  drugs  which  they 
handle  every  day? 
Here  then  is  an  opening  in  pharmacy — the  study  of  drugs.  That 
the  pharmacist  should  know  the  pharmacology  of  drugs,  will  prob- 
ably not  be  questioned.  But  the  objection  may  be  made  that  em- 
phasis laid  upon  the  therapeutic  action  of  drugs  by  the  pharmacist 
has  a  tendency  to  counter  prescribing.  The  reverse  is  probably  true. 
Counter  prescribing  is  now  most  largely  carried  on  empirically,  by 
