16  Customs  Regulations  of  1908.         f  Am- Jour- pharm- 
January,  1909. 
EXAMINATION  OF  DRUGS  AND  MEDICINAL  PREPARA- 
TIONS UNDER  THE  CUSTOMS  REGULATIONS 
OF  1908. 
By  Benjamin  P.  Ashmead, 
Examiner  of  Drugs,  Port  of  Philadelphia. 
In  accordance  with  the  Customs  Regulations  of  1908  all  drugs  and 
medicinal  preparations  are  examined  as  provided  by  the  Drug  Act 
of  1848,  in  reference  to  their  quality,  purity,  and  fitness  for  medicinal 
purposes.  The  examination  also  includes  an  inquiry  into  their  iden- 
tity as  specified  upon  the  invoice,  and  as  to  the  foreign  market  value 
at  the  time  of  shipment. 
As  all  ports  are  governed  by  the  same  regulations  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  procedure  is  uniform  throughout  the  United  States. 
The  special  examiner  of  drugs  at  this  port  upon  receipt  of  an 
invoice,  whenever  in  his  judgment  it  is  deemed  necessary,  transmits 
to  the  chemists  in  the  Government  Laboratory  for  analysis  a  sample 
of  such  crude  drugs  as  are  enumerated  in  the  Act  of  1848,  among 
which  are  Aloes,  Cinchona,  Colocynth,  Jalap,  Opium,  Rhubarb  and 
Senna,  together  with  such  others  as  are  required  by  the  U.  S.  Phar- 
macopoeia to  conform  to  a  definite  standard.  If  this  examination 
shows  that  the  importation  is  not  of  the  required  standard,  the  result 
of  the  assay  is  reported  to  the  collector  of  customs,  and  if  upon 
appeal  by  the  importer  the  government  assay  is  verified,  the  collector 
takes  the  prescribed  steps  for  the  exportation  of  the  condemned 
merchandise. 
Medicinal  leaves  and  flowers,  barks  and  roots  of  recent  collection 
are  admitted  when  in  perfect  condition  without  analysis,  the  physical 
examination  satisfying  our  requirements. 
At  this  port  all  tests  have  been  made  to  conform  to  the  U.  S. 
Pharmacopoeia  and  Dispensatory,  no  disputes  having  arisen  by  reason 
of  any  differences  between  these  standards  and  the  standards  of  the 
country  of  origin  of  the  merchandise. 
The  enormous  increase  in  the  importation  of  crude  drugs  since 
the  passing  of  the  Act  of  1848  and  the  satisfactory  administration 
of  this  branch  of  the  Customs  Service  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  Act  is  of  such  elasticity  as  will  admit  of  any  change  in  tests  for 
purity  that  may  arise  from  advanced  scientific  methods. 
The  Customs  Regulations  should  be  amended  by  striking  out  the 
