194 
Habit-Forming  Drugs. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1909. 
requires,  will  ultimately  stamp  out  drug  addictions.  It  must  also 
be  stated  that  some  of  the  state  officials  are  laboring  strenuously  to 
enforce  these  laws  and  are  doing  much  toward  eradicating  the  curse, 
but  there  are  several  features  beyond  their  control  to  which  attention 
will  now  be  directed. 
The  laws  of  one  state  are  unable  to  reach  parties  sending  habit- 
forming  drugs  into  its  borders  from  another  jurisdiction,  although 
the  jurisdiction  from  which  the  drugs  are  sent  may  prohibit  the 
selling,  locally,  of  similar  drugs.  For  example,  the  sale  of  cocaine 
is  prohibited  in  the  state  of  Maryland  excepting  on  physician's  pre- 
scription, but  this  does  not  prevent  a  party  in  Maryland  from  ship- 
ping cocaine  into  the  District  of  Columbia,  where  a  similar  law 
prevails,  to  the  consumer,  peddler,  or  any  other  irresponsible  party ; 
in  fact  this  is  now  not  an  uncommon  practice.  I  was  informed  some 
time  ago  that  a  certain  wholesale  druggist  in  an  adjacent  state  was 
shipping  a  cocaine-laden  catarrh  powder  to  an  habitue  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  Steps  were  immediately  taken  to  determine  whether 
or  not  this  representation  was  correct,  and  as  an  evidence  of  the 
correctness  of  the  statement  I  have  here  one  of  the  three  packages 
actually  sent  to  a  supposed  drug  habitue. 
Here  I  have  a  cocaine  preparation  intended  for  the  treatment  of 
the  tobacco  habit,  placed  on  the  market  by  an  M.D.,  as  is  plainly 
shown  by  the  label.  Think  of  treating  the  tobacco  habit  by  means 
of  a  cocaine  product !  Here  I  have  one  of  the  many  drug-addiction 
cures  containing  24  grains  of  morphine  to  the  ounce.  Here  we  have 
the  scriptural  99  saved  extending  aid  to  the  one  lost.  The  product 
contains  7  grains  of  morphine  sulphate  to  the  ounce,  and  is  supplied 
by  a  Chicago  druggist.  This  "  Asthma,  Whooping-Cough,  Etc." 
preparation  contains  no  grains  of  chloral  hydrate  to  the  ounce,  a 
most  pernicious  mixture,  sent  directly  into  the  home  without  any 
indication  whatever  respecting  its  deadly  nature.  A  teaspoonful 
may  send  a  child  to  eternity.  A  number  of  other  samples  contain- 
ing habit-forming  drugs  were  exhibited,  for  example,  an  asthma 
preparation  containing  cocaine,  a  teething-syrup  containing  the 
same  insidious  drug,  a  morphine-bearing  "  Infant's  Friend,"  etc. 
The  above  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  instances  which  we  have 
on  record  showing  in  what  manner  the  District  and  state  laws  are 
violated  daily  for  want  of  a  satisfactory  Federal  law  regulating  the 
shipment  into  interstate  commerce  of  these  pernicious  products. 
During  the  first  session  of  the  60th  Congress  several  bills  were 
