i8  Drugs  and  Food  Acts  of  1848  and  1906.  {A jauJu°aUry 
Pharm. 
1909. 
may  have  upon  the  public  health.  I  have  personally  defended  this 
section,  believing  that  if  dealers  act  wisely  under  its  proviso  many 
annoying  trade-disturbing  features  could  be  avoided.  It  was,  how- 
ever, not  intended  as  a  loop-hole  for  fraud.  A  similar  view  was 
taken  relative  to  Section  8  dealing  with  misbranding. 
About  a  year  ago  our  attention  was  directed  to  an  importation  at 
New  Orleans  with  the  following  name :  "  Espey's  Syrup  for  Chil- 
dren's Dentition."  The  label  plainly  stated  that  the  preparation 
contained  a  certain  amount  of  cocaine  hydrochloride  to  the  bottle. 
The  question  naturally  suggested  was,  Is  it  possible  -under  the  Food 
and  Drugs  Act  that  a  pernicious  product  of  this  type  can  be  im- 
ported ?  Some  time  subsequently  an  asthma  spray  was  offered  for 
importation,  guaranteed  under  the  above  Act,  containing  4^  grains 
of  cocaine  nitrite  to  the  rluidounce.  Other  cases  of  a  similar  type 
were  met  with,  but  these  serve  to  illustrate  the  possibility  of  import- 
ing dangerous,  pernicious,  habit-forming  agents  under  Section  8 
of  the  law.  It  was  considered  extremely  unfortunate  that  such  a 
condition  should  obtain,  particularly  in  view  of  the  fact  that  many 
states  were  prohibiting  the  sale  of  these  commodities,  except  on 
physicians'  prescriptions. 
We  shall  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  adulterated,  debased  and 
deleterious  drug  products  entered  for  importation  under  Section  7 
of  the  Act.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  specimen  of  sarsaparilla  rhizome, 
a  portion  of  the  plant  specifically  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  to 
be  eliminated  in  the  manufacture  of  sarsaparilla  preparations.  These 
rhizomes  have  the  following  history :  The  sarsaparilla  proper  with 
the  rhizomes  attached  was  shipped  to  England,  where  the  rhizomes 
were  separated  from  the  roots  and  shipped  to  the  United  States. 
Several  importations  were  offered  under  the  name  sarsaparilla  and 
properly  refused  entry.  Another  importation  of  these  rhizomes  was 
offered  under  the  name,  "  smilax  rhizomes."  By  this  name  it  was 
undoubtedly  intended  to  establish  a  precedent  and  open  an  avenue 
for  the  entrance  of  articles  of  this  type.  The  importation  was 
refused,  first,  because  these  rhizomes  did  not  possess  any  recognized 
medicinal  virtue,  and  second,  because  the  name  is  meaningless  and 
would  open  the  door  to  a  multitude  of  sins.  The  importer  repre- 
sented that  large  pharmaceutical  manufacturers  had  been  using  these 
rhizomes  for  the  manufacture  of  Pharmacopceial  preparations,  which 
contention  was  supplemented  by  a  letter  from  such  manufacturer, 
which  reads  in  part  as  follows : 
