Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
April,  1909.  J 
Habit-Forming  Drugs. 
195 
introduced,  the  object  of  which  is  to  provide  for  some  regulation. 
During  the  second  session  of  the  same  Congress  two  other  bills  were 
introduced,  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the  importation  of  various 
forms  of  opium.  The  Gallinger  Bill,  S.  4892,  forbids  the  importa- 
tion of  all  forms  of  opium  and  compositions  containing  any  opium, 
excepting  by  duly  appointed  government  officials  who  are  also 
charged  with  the  final  disposition  of  the  opium.  A  similar  but  much 
more  stringent  law,  covering  not  only  the  above  products  but  cocaine 
and  the  eucaines  as  well,  was  enacted  by  Congress  in  1907  for  the 
Philippine  Islands.  If  this  law  is  properly  executed  the  illegitimate 
use  of  opium,  cocaine  and  the  eucaines  will  be  short-lived.  It  was 
thought  by  many  that  the  Gallinger  Bill  would  meet  with  severe 
opposition,  yet  the  belief  prevailed  that  this  country  was  in  need  of 
a  Federal  antinarcotic  law  drafted  along  the  lines  of  the  American 
Pharmaceutical  Association's  model  antinarcotic  law.  The  principles 
of  this  model  law  are  embodied  in  the  two  Mann  bills,  one,  H.R. 
19240,  introduced  by  request  March  13,  1908,  and  the  other,  H.R. 
21982,  introduced  May  12,  1908.  In  fact,  these  bills  are  modifica- 
tions of  the  District  of  Columbia  antinarcotic  law  passed  by  the 
United  States  Congress  in  1906,  modified  so  as  to  be  applicable  to 
importations,  interstate  commerce  and  territorial  transactions.  The 
law  also  limits  the  amounts  of  certain  prescribed  drugs  which  may 
be  called  for  in  a  single  prescription.  Each  of  the  bills  also  contains 
a  poison  label  section,  a  feature  which  has  been  in  existence  in  most 
of  the  states  for  many  years.  The  bill  has  been  severely  criticized 
by  a  number  of  interests. 
It  is  estimated  that  150,000  ounces  of  cocaine  hydrochloride  is 
used  yearly  in  the  United  States.  Of  this  quantity  it  is  estimated 
that  at  least  one-half  is  employed  for  improper  purposes.  It  is  also 
estimated  that  over  one-half  of  the  amount  of  opium  and  morphine 
imported  into  the  United  States  is  used  illegally. 
During  the  first  eight  years  of  the  present  decade  beginning  with 
the  year  1900,  the  average  amount  of  crude  opium  imported  into 
the  United  States  was  8,027,792  ounces  per  year,  of  smoking  opium 
the  average  per  year  was  2.431,104  ounces,  and  of  morphine  and  its 
salts  21,731  ounces.  These  data  should  certainly  be  sufficient  to 
warrant  some  activity  along  the  line  of  regulating  the  sales  of  these 
pernicious,  life-wrecking  agents  and  preparations  containing  same. 
