Poisons Regulations

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 938, 3 April 1930, Page 10

Poisons Regulations

STRICT PRECAUTIONS TAKEN WHEN Spot and Tabby, the family pets, have outlived their prime and the time has come to part, their master often finds the formalities necessary for the securing of a supply of poison so very exacting that Spot (or Tabby) is given a new lease of life. A well-known City chemist outlined to The Sun today the strict precautions taken under Government regulations to prevent unauthorised persons securing a supply.

A purchaser must be introduced to the salesman behind the counter by some person with whom both are acquainted. He Is then required to sign a statement giving his full name, address and occupation, the exact quantity and name of the poison required, the express purpose for which it is intended to be used and the place or locality where the poison is intended to be used or deposited. This statement must then be signed by the purchaser, the person who introduced him, and by the seller. Chemists are able to decide from this statement whether the purpose for which the poison is said to be intended requires the amount stated, and to limit the supply accordingly or to refuse it if he sees fit. The completed form must he posted or lodged at the Magistrate’s Court within an hour of the transaction. The regulations are evaded seldom, especially in the case of -the more deadly poisons, strychnine and arsenic. In the case of cocaine, morphia, heroin and other drugs, there are devotees even in Auckland who are always on the alert for some new scheme whereby the regulations may be avoided. One method (which, however, seldom succeeds) is in posing as the representative of another chemist whose stocks have been exhausted. Arsenic and strychnine are used, by casual purchasers, principally for ■the destruction of old family pets, or by rabbit trappers for securing the pelts of the more wily of the furred tribe. These latter often buy up to au ounce of the deadly poisons at a time. Buyers are often introduced by the police stationed in their district, and it is the police themselves who form a large portion of the chemist’s custom in poisons. Inspectors of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, too, use quantities every year in destroying strays and animals which have been injured. In only one case, that of poisoned wheat, can sales be made over the counter without formality. Even experienced doctors are not immune from error. Occasionally a prescription is received in which the dose of strychnine may exceed the

usual two to five drops, and it is then the duty of the chemist to get into touch with the doctor and check the quantities ordered. » In some cases the usual maximum dose can be exceeded without injury, whereas in others, where a patient’s lieEirt action is weaker, even a smaller portion would be fatal. There is always a large margin of safety allowed, but even then mistakes are liable to occur, such as double doses being taken. Beside arsenic and strychnine, there are other poisons which have to x be treated with respect, although their action is not so swift and sure. One of the most powerful and rapid of all is hydrocyanic acid, more commonly known as prussic acid, familiar to all readers of “shilling shockers’* for its characteristic odour resembling bitter almonds. Then there is morphia, the active principle of opium, which is generally swallowed or injected to induce sleep. Excessive doses will produce poisoning and death. There is a steady and world-wide demand for morphia and its allied drugs to meet the needs of the huge community of “dope fiends.” and it is astonishing how easily these could be secured in New Zealand up to four months ago, when new regulations governing the sale of patent medicines came into force. Formerly one well-known American firm sent here a cough mixture containing a goodly proportion of heroin, a drug allied to morphia, which gave relief from an asthmatic cough. This formula has since been altered to come within the new regulations. Makers of all patent medicines are now required to state on the wrapper the formula followed, and the Police Department has -the right to enter a chemist’s shop at any time and take away a sample for analysis. Generally speaking, all medicines have been analysed before they are admitted to the country, and any departure from the standard may be expected to bring quick and heavy retribution. There is nothing, however, to prevent a chemist from making up a private order quantities of drugs which cannot be imported ready mixed.