Editorial. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1919. 
packages  as  hereinafter  provided  shall  be  deemed  a  wholesale 
dealer."  Here  again  arises  a  serious  question,  as  under  the  stamp- 
ing provision  every  unit  must  be  stamped  and  if  the  retailer  sells 
on  a  prescription  a  tube  of  hypodermic  or  other  tablets  containing 
for  example,  morphine,  in  the  original  package  or  vial,  which  as  a 
trade  unit  must  be  stamped,  does  he  not  become  a  wholesale  dealer 
and  subject  to  license  as  such? 
The  definition  for  a  retail  dealer  is  likewise  somewhat  involved 
as  "  every  person  who  sells  or  dispenses  from  an  original  stamped 
package  is  deemed  to  be  a  retail  dealer."  As  a  physician  must  nec- 
essarily buy  such  articles  as  hypodermic  tablets  or  other  medicines 
containing  any  of  these  narcotics  in  stamped  packages,  does  he  not 
also  become  a  retail  dealer  when  he  uses  or  dispenses  same  from 
these  containers  as  under  the  law  he  must  do  ?  Will  he  have  to  be 
licensed  under  both  classifications — physician  and  retail"  dealer  ? 
The  law  provides  that  "  there  shall  be  collected  a  tax  of  one 
cent  per  ounce  and  any  fraction  of  an  ounce  to  be  taxed  as  an 
ounce,  the  tax  to  be  collected  by  an  appropriate  stamp  affixed  to 
the  bottle  or  other  container  so  as  to  securely  seal  the  stopper,  cover 
or  wrapper  thereto."  Further  that  "  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
person  to  purchase,  sell,  dispense  or  distribute  any  of  these  drugs 
except  in  the  original  stamped  package,  or  from  the  original  stamped 
package."  The  stamp  is  to  be  affixed  by  the  importer,  manufac- 
turer, producer  or  compounder  of  the  drug  or  preparation  and  so 
becomes  a  "  manufacturers  or  'producers  '  tax"  and  not  a  tax  to  be 
paid  by  a  wholesaler  or  retailer  on  stock  in  hand. 
A  preliminary  notice  issued  by  some  of  the  district  collectors 
advising  wholesale  dealers,  retail  dealers,  practitioners,  etc.,  to  affix 
these  narcotic  stamps  to  stock  on  hand  was  an  error. 
The  wording  of  this  section  would  appear  to  substantiate  the 
opinion  that  this  tax  must  be  paid  upon  the  ounce  of  the  prepara- 
tion, irrespective  of  the  narcotic  content. 
The  amended  Section  6  of  the  Harrison  Act  permits  the  manu- 
facturers and  dealers  in  the  articles  exempted  under  the  provisions 
of  this  section  to  register  and  procure  narcotic  supplies  for  such 
purpose  by  paying  a  tax  of  $1.00  per  year ;  thus  covering  the  manu- 
facturers of  this  class  of  exempted  articles  who  were  not  included 
with  those  licensed  under  the  original  Harrison  Act.  The  retail 
drug  trade,  as  well  as  other  dealers,  including  dispensing  physicians 
should  note  that  the  amended  section  now  requires  that  a  record 
