ALCOHOL AS MEDICINE.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16144, 23 February 1918, Page 4

ALCOHOL AS MEDICINE.

CASES AGAINST CHEMISTS. Two Waihi chemists—George Barron and Ernest A. Clark —were charged before Mr J. G. L. Hewitt, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court on Tuesday with keeping aicoholic liquor for sale and with selling alcoholic liquor in the nohcense district of Ohinemuri, contrary to the Licensing Act, 190 S. A third chemist, William J. "Woods, was charged "with having stored liquor for sale. The defendants pleaded not guilty to the breach of the Act, but did not denv keeping or selling liquor. For the prosecution, Senior-Sergeant O'Gradv contended that Section 146 of the Act absolutely prohibited the sal« of liquor in a no-license district by any person whatsoever. If that contention failed, he wguld submit that although Section 147 —which did not abrogate any of the previous clauses in the Act —authorised chemists to supply liquor in medicinal quantities on the certificate of a medical man, then the defendants had supplied liquor in greater quantities than might be deemed reasonable quantities for medicinal purposes, and also to ccrtain persons to whom it should not have been supplied. The Magistrate said that if the latter contention was put forward the prosecution would be going beyond the question of asking him to determine tiie point of law as to whether the Act permitted chemists to supply liquor on a medical certificate. It would sug; gest, even assuming they were entitled to sell, that they had exceeded and abused the provisions of the Act by selling in greater quantities than might be reasonably regarded as medicine. In fact, it might go so far as to suggest connivance between doctors and chemists to defeat the intentions of Section 147 of the Act—a very seri- y ous and far-reaching charge, and one 'that might lay chemists open to substantial penalty if proved to be correct. Under these circumstances defendants should be given timo to prepare their answer to the second allegation. The ease was adjourned.