376 
MARYLAND  COLLEGE  OF  PHARMACY. 
although  location  and  other  circumstances  necessarily  affect  the  rate  of 
charges  at  different  establishments,  no  Apothecary  should,  intentionally, 
undersell  his  neighbors  with  a  view  to  their  injury. 
Article  6. — One  of  the  principal  duties  of  the  Apothecary  is  to  supply 
himself  with  genuine  and  pure  articles  of  the  Materia  Medica,  and  such 
chemical  and  pharmaceutical  preparations  as  he  may  not  prepare  himself. 
In  the  selection  of  many  articles,  such  as  Powders  and  some  Essential  Oils, 
to  procure  them  genuine  and  unadulterated,  it  is  necessary  to  rely  on  the 
integrity  of  the  wholesale  druggist ;  we  therefore,  hold  it  to  be  our  duty  to 
avoid  the  druggist  who  would  knowingly  furnish  a  sophisticated  or  impure 
article  of  any  description  whatever ;  and  as  compounding  prescriptions  and 
dispensing  medicines  at  retail,  form  no  part  of  the  business  of  the  wholesale 
druggist,  but  is  highly  injurious  to  our  trade,' we  cannot  be  expected  to  make 
our  purchases  from  those  who  are  addicted  to  either  the  above  practices. 
Any  member  of  this  College  becoming  cognizant  of  either  of  those  practices, 
shall  be  required  to  make  it  known  to  the  College  at  its  next  meeting. 
Article  7. — Both  Physicians  and  Apothecaries  are  liable  to  commit  errors, 
the  former  inswriting  prescriptions,  the  latter  in  compounding  them  ;  we 
therefore  deem  it  to  be  our  duty,  when  we  are  satisfied  that  an  error  has 
been  committed  in  writing  a  prescription,  to  return  it  to  the  Physician  for 
correction,  and  to  use  commendable  tact  in  concealing  the  same  from  the 
patient,  so  as  to  avoid  compromising  the  reputation  of  the  Physician.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  the  error  is  on  the  part  of  the  Apothecary,  the  Phy- 
sician should  feel  bound  to  screen  him  from  undue  censure,  unless  it  is  the 
result  of  ignorance  or  culpable  negligence  ;  and  in  cases  of  errors  not  aris- 
ing from  either  of  the  latter  causes,  we  should  feel  bound  to  protect  each 
other  ;  never  giving  currency  to  a  report  that  will  affect  the  reputation  of  a 
a  brother  Pharmaceutist,  and  which  may,  possibly,  have  no  foundation  in 
fact. 
Article  8. — As  there  are  many  powerful  substances  that  rank  as  poisons, 
which  are  constantly  kept  by  Apothecaries,  and  prescribed  by  Physicians, 
and  which  are  only  safe  in  their  hands — as  Arsenious  Acid,  some  Vegetable 
Alkaloids,  Ergot,  Cantharides,  etc., — we  hold  that  the  Apothecary  is  not 
justified  in  vending  these  powerful  agents  indiscriminately  to  persons  un- 
qualified to  administer  them,  and  that  a  prescription  should  always  be  re- 
quired, except  in  those  cases  when  the  poisons  are  intended  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  animals  or  vermin — and  in  these  instances  only  with  the  guarantee 
of  a  responsible  person.  And  we  hold  that  when  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  purchaser  is  habitually  using  opiates  or  stimulants  to  ex- 
cess, every  conscientious  Apothecary  should  discourage  such  practice. 
