THE DRUG HABIT.
EXISTENCE IN AUCKLAND. AMENDING LEGISLATION REQUIRED.
(SPECIAL TO '"IHZ PBZSS.")
AUCKLAND, April 21
A man walked into an Auckland chemist's shop not long ago and asked for four grains of heroin with the nonchalance of one requiring a tube of tooth-paste. "What authority have you to ask for that drug?" asked the chemist. "I have tlie money to ftov for it," calmly replied the young man. He was not supplied. Some time previously tlie same chemist was given what' purported to 1)0 a prescription for eyedrops, containintrji considerable amount of a certain form of opium. The man told a harrowing story of the pain being suffered bv his wife and of his own inability to pay at the moment. So convincing was the storv that the chemist decided to supplv tlie prescription, but owing to the large content of opium, he reduced the quantities all round to tide the patient over the night. On the chance that the buyer was a drug addict, however, he rang up all the chemists iu the vicinity and told them what lie had supplied to a man, whose desciiption he gave. Within 15 minutes the man had '-ailed at three shops to ask for the same prescription to be made up. In no case was he supplied. It was found-that lie possessed some knowledge of chemistry. Such incidents, which might be related by almost every chemist, prove two things that there are a number of victims of the "dope" habit in Auckland, and that chemists, are striving to prevent the sale of dangerous drugs to them. Tho whole question was discussed by Mr A. 11. Cotterall, president of the Northern Pharmaceutical Association, and Mr E. Smith, member of the Pharmacv Board of New Zealand, and it was" made clear by them that the chemists arc working hand-in-hand with the British Medical Association toward /M.ting the drug-taking menace. I', is not admitted that the habit of drugtaking has developed to any extent in 2Cew Zealand —not, in any case, to the extent to which it has spread its ugly tentacles iu Australia and other countries more remote, but it is quite evident that grave fears are entertained that it may spread, and for that reason an effort is being made to have enacted mueh more strict legislation. Iu the opinion of the bodies represented by the gentlemen mentioned, the Poisons Act is 40 years out of date. There is no real restraint upon the sale of dangerous drugs, except the conscience of the individual concerned, and there is urgent necessity for amending legislation." Tho law as it stands controls the importation of drugs used by addicts, but their retail distribution is much less carefully supervised. Until 1921, opium in its various forms was the only drug over which import control was exercised. That year morphine, heroin, cocaine, codeine, and ecogninc were added to the list. , A permit to import must first be obtained, and countries that export to New Zealand require the production of this permit before shipment is allowed. A declaration is required by the local au-. thorities that drugs arc required 'for medical or scientific purposes, and the obligation is upon the merchant to satisfy himself that they will not be sold for any other purpose. The merchant is required to record his sales in a book which tho Customs officials inspect. Retailers arc restricted in the. sale of opium in any form which might be made suitable for smoking. For instance, they are not permitted to sell more than half an ounce of laudanum to the same person in a week, and, ac : cording to the authorities, it would take 50 ounces of laudanum to make practicable the production of opium. With regard to other drugs, there is no legal control. Sales should be recorded in the poisons book that the law rcquiros chemists to keep, but it is agreed that the chemist, if he was prepared to break tho rules of his own craft, could sell without making entries in his poisons book, because he could account for the quantities disposed of by saying that they had been used in prescriptions dispensed. In any case, it would appear that there would be no penalty. If every sale wore recorded in tho poisons book, he would have done all that tho law requires of him.
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Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18363, 22 April 1925, Page 9
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726THE DRUG HABIT. Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18363, 22 April 1925, Page 9
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