STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

IN THE

DISPENSING AND RETAILING OF POISONS

RETAILING.

I. Relating to Part 1 and Part 2 of the List.

It is unlawful to sell any POISON " by retail, unless the vessel, wrapper, or cover in which it is contained, be distinctly labelled with the name of the poison, the word " Poison," and the name and address of the seller, and in the case of a preparation containing a poison such particulars respecting the proportion of the poison to the other ingredients as may be prescribed by Order in Council. This applies to all articles in both Parts of the List. In addition, the Poison Regulations require that all liniments, embrocations, lotions, and liquid disinfectants containing poison (whether in Part I. or Part II. of the Schedule) must be sent out in bottles rendered distinguishable by touch from ordinary medicine bottles, and must bear an indication that the contents are not for internal use. For regulations relating to dangerous Drugs see following pages.

II. Relating to Part 1 only.

It is unlawful to sell, by retail, any poison included in Part 1 of the List, to any person unknown to the seller, unless introduced by some person known to the seller; and on every sale of any such article the seller shall, before delivery, make or cause to be made an entry in a book to be kept for that purpose, of—

1. The date of sale;

2. The name and address of the purchaser ;

3. The name and quantity of the article sold; and
4. The purpose for which it is stated to be required;

to which the signature of the purchaser, and of the person, if any,
who introduced him, shall be affixed. The article must also be labelled
with the name of the poison, the word " Poison," and the name and
address of the seller. (See Par. I above.)

III. Relating only to Arsenic.

It is unlawful to sell Arsenic or certain of its preparations, unless in addition to all the foregoing regulations, the following provisions of the Arsenic Act be also observed :

1. That the poison, if colourless, be mixed with soot or indigo so as to colour it.

2. That the person to whom the poison is sold or delivered be of mature age.

3. That the occupation, as well as the name and address, of the purchaser be entered in the poison-book.

4. That when the purchaser is not known to the seller, and is introduced by some person known to both, this person shall be present as a witness to the transaction, and shall enter his name and address in the poison-book. (Non-medicinal preparations of Arsenic are not in Part I. of the Poison Schedule.)

DISPENSING.

None of the foregoing regulations apply to any article when forming part of the ingredients of any medicine dispensed by a Registered Chemist and Druggist; but it is necessary, if a medicine contain a poison included in Part 1 or Part 2 of the List, that the ingredients of the medicine, together with the name of the person to whom it is sold or delivered, be entered in a book kept for that purpose (Prescription Book), and that the name and address of the seller be attached to the medicine. (For dispensing Dangerous Drugs see following pages.)

NOTE.-The Schedule of Poisons can be obtained gratis from the Office of the Society, 17, Bloomsbury Square, W.C.

SUMMARY OF REGULATIONS

UNDER THE

DANGEROUS DRUGS ACTS 1920 AND 1923

The following notes are presented for the information and guidance of pharmacists. They are not intended to cover the requirements of the wholesaler. In addition to this Summary, the pharmacist will be well advised to keep a copy of the Acts and Regulations handy for reference. These may be obtained from H.M. Stationery Offices, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. The Regulations respecting Raw Opium are not dealt with below, as the handling of this substance is, in the main, confined to the wholesale or manufacturing chemist.

(1) LIST OF DRUGS

The Drugs to which the Regulations apply are:

Morphine, Cocaine, Ecgonine, Diamorphine (Heroin), and their respective salts, and Medicinal Opium and any substance containing ONE-FIFTH PER CENT. (one part in five hundred) or more of Anhydrous Morphine, or ONE-TENTH PER CENT. (one part in a thousand) or more of Cocaine, Ecgonine, or Diamorphine.

Preparations containing less than one-fifth per cent. of Anhydrous Morphine or one-tenth per cent. of Cocaine, Ecgonine or Diamorphine are not subject to the restrictions of the Regulations.

Percentage.-Section 5 of the Dangerous Drugs and Poisons (Amendment) Act, 1923, provides that, unless otherwise required by Regulation, in the case of liquid preparations, percentages shall be calculated on the basis that a preparation containing ONE PER CENT. of any substance means a preparation in which one gramme of the substance if a solid, or one millilitre of the substance if a liquid, is contained in every one hundred millilitres of the preparation, and so in proportion for any greater or less percentage.

(2) MANUFACTURE OF THE DRUGS

The pharmacist may not manufacture or carry on any process in the manufacturing of morphine, cocaine, ecgonine, diamorphine, or their respective salts, or medicinal opium, unless he is licensed by the Home Secretary to do so, and on premises licensed for the purpose. He may manufacture at his shop in the ordinary course of his retail business any preparation, admixture, or extract of any of these drugs.

(3) RESTRICTIONS ON SALE

The pharmacist may not, except on the prescription of a duly qualified medical practitioner, registered dentist, or registered veterinary surgeon, supply to the public any of the drugs referred to under (1), except those preparations included in the Schedule of Exemptions (see sec. (9)). Moreover, supplies on prescription may only be made in accordance with the conditions set out under (6). Sales may be made to special classes of persons as shown in (4).

(4) PERSONS TO WHOM SALES OTHER THAN ON PRESCRIPTION MAY BE MADE

Persons to whom the pharmacist may sell in the ordinary course of retailing the drugs set out in (1) are: Medical practitioners, registered dentists, registered veterinary surgeons, pharmacists employed as dispensers in public hospitals, public analysts, and persons in charge of research or instruction laboratories " attached to any university, university college, public hospital, or other institution approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose." Sales may also be made to persons licensed to import or export the drugs, or licensed or otherwise authorized to manufacture or supply the drugs, or otherwise licensed by the Secretary of State or authorized by these regulations or by any authority granted by the Secretary of State to be in possession of the drugs," but only in accordance with the terms and conditions of such licence or authority. See also list of Special Authorizations (10).

(4a) CONDITIONS OF SALE TO REGISTERED MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS, Registered dentists, and registerED VETERINARY SURGEONS

The Conditions of Sale to the above authorized persons are either a sale with appropriate entries and signature of the purchaser in the Poison Book or

(1) The receipt by the seller before the sale, or in case of an emergency,
within twenty-four hours next following such sale, of an order
in writing signed by the purchaser, giving his or her name and
address, and the name and quantity of the article ordered, the
seller to be reasonably satisfied that the signature on the order
is genuine, and that the signatory is a registered medical practi-
tioner, registered dentist, or registered veterinary surgeon.
(2) The article sold, if sent by post to the purchaser, must be sent
by registered post, or in an emergency it may be delivered by
hand, either in exchange for an order in writing, or on an under-
taking by the purchaser to furnish an order to the seller within
twenty-four hours. Failure on the part of the purchaser to
furnish such an order, or the making by him of a statement
which is to his knowledge false, for the purpose of obtaining
delivery of any poison within the meaning of the statute, is
deemed to be the procuring of the commission of an offence
under Section 17 of the Pharmacy Act, 1868.

(3) The seller must enter in the Poisons Register, in the place reserved for the signature of the purchaser, the words signed order together with the date on which the order is executed, and must preserve the order for a period of two years from the date on which the final entry is made in the book. He must also record the transaction in the Dangerous Drugs Register, with a reference to the entry in the Poisons Register.

(5) CONDITIONS OF SALE TO AUTHORIZED PERSONS In the case of sales to persons mentioned in (4), the following provisions must be complied with by the pharmacist :

(a) If Undiluted Morphine, Cocaine, Ecgonine, Diamorphine, or their respective salts, or medicinal opium are sold, the amount of the drug contained in the bottle or package must be plainly marked thereon.

(b) If any preparation, admixture, extract, etc., containing any of these drugs and coming within the Regulations is sold, the bottle or package containing the powder, solution, or ointment, etc., must be plainly marked with the total amount of the contents and also the percentage of the drug contained therein. In the case of tablets or other articles (e.g. lozenges, capsules, pills, cachets), the container must be marked with the amount of drug in each tablet, lozenge, capsule, etc., and the number of such articles in the container.

It should be noted that all the drugs covered by the Regulations are Poisons in Part I. of the Schedule of Poisons.

Records of transactions must be kept as shown under (7).

(6) DISPENSING PRESCRIPTIONS.

NOTE.-The Regulations only apply to prescriptions which when dispensed result in the finished product containing one-fifth per cent. or more of anhydrous morphine, or one-tenth per cent. or more of cocaine, ecgonine, or diamorphine.

Prescriptions coming within the above class may only be written by qualified medical practitioners, registered dentists, or registered veterinary

surgeons.

The prescription must be in writing (which also includes typewriting) and must be dated and signed with the ordinary signature, and the address of the prescriber, except in the case of Insurance prescriptions, in which the address is not necessary, and must specify the name and address of the person for whose use the prescription is given, and the total amount of the drug to be supplied on the prescription. Except in the case of Insurance prescriptions, the prescription must be retained by the pharmacist.

If the prescriber so directs in writing, the medicament may be supplied on the same prescription on not more than three occasions, at intervals specified on the prescription. Unless the prescriber so directs the prescription is to be dispensed once only.

The prescription must be marked with the date on which it is dispensed, and must be retained on the premises and be available for inspection. A Dentist's Prescription must be marked by the dentist For Local Dental Treatment Only.'

A Veterinary Surgeon's Prescription must be marked by the veterinary surgeon "For Animal Treatment Only."

When dispensing prescriptions written by a veterinary surgeon or dentist the pharmacist must mark the container in accordance with instructions set out in (5) (a) and (b). This procedure is not to be adopted for physicians' prescriptions.

OFFICIAL FORMS.

The Home Secretary has power to prescribe an official form on which prescriptions must be written, and if he prescribes such a form then doctors', dentists', and veterinary surgeons' prescriptions must be written on such official forms. In cases of emergency, when such official forms are not available, the prescriber must write on the prescription, "Official form

not available." In the case of emergency prescriptions the pharmacist must be acquainted with the signature of the person by whom the prescription purports to be written, or with the person for whose use the prescription is given, and must be satisfied that the prescription is a genuine one. The police proceedings taken in a number of cases indicate a tendency to devolve on the pharmacist the onus of deciding whether or not a prescription is forged. There are, of course, limits to his ability to do so, but in his own interest it is desirable that in every doubtful case he should make every effort to verify the genuineness of the prescription, and where he is unable to place the genuineness beyond doubt he should decline to dispense the prescription. Insurance prescriptions should be written on the ordinary Insurance prescription form. usual procedure as to despatch for pricing should be followed.

The

(7) RECORDS AND REGISTERS OF SUPPLIES RECEIVED AND DISPOSED OF.

Entries of all supplies of the drugs enumerated in (1) received by the pharmacist must be made in a Special Register on the day of receipt. Separate parts of the Register must be kept for (a) Cocaine and Ecgonine and substances containing them; (b) Morphine and substances containing it; (c) Diamorphine and substances containing it; and (d) Medicinal Opium. The entries must be made in the following manner :

Date on which supply received.

Name of person, body, or firm from whom obtained.

Address of person, body, or firm from whom obtained.

Amount obtained.

Form in which obtained.

The Regulations provide for a similar Register for recording sales and supplies of the drugs, but also permit the pharmacist to adopt the following method instead: He may enter in a separate book all references, under their appropriate dates, to all such entries in the Prescription and Poisons Books as apply to the drugs. If the latter method of recording sales and supplies be adopted the reference book must contain separate sections for each drug. In practice, the pharmacist will probably find it most convenient to adopt one or other of the combined Registers which the chemists' printers have prepared to meet the requirements of the Regulations. The register or registers must be kept in some part of the premises to which it or they relate, and must be readily available for inspection. Entries must not be cancelled, altered, or obliterated. Any correction must be made by means of a marginal note or footnote.

It should be noted that when the drugs are dispensed an entry must also be made in the Prescription Book as required by Section 17 of the Pharmacy Act, 1868, except in the case of Insurance prescriptions, and further that where a pharmacist carries on business at more than one set of premises he must keep a separate register or registers in respect of each set of premises.

Information respecting his transactions in, and purchases and stocks of the drugs must be furnished by the pharmacist if required by or on behalf of the Home Office.

The before-mentioned records and registers must be preserved for not less than two years from the date of the prescription or document, or of the last entry in the record.

(8) DELIVERY TO MESSENGERS.

If any person licensed or authorized to be in possession of the drugs (e.g., a doctor, dentist, veterinary surgeon, another pharmacist or a licence