On page 9, line 13, strike out the words "license or. On page 9, line 17, strike out, after the word "effect," the remainder of the paragraph. On page 9, line 23, strike out the words "license or." On page 10, line 10, after the word "examiner," strike out the comma. On page 10, line 11, strike out the words "but not of more than one, will" and insert the word "shall." On page 10, line 17, after the word " remove," insert a comma and the words "after full hearing." On page 12, line 1, strike out the word "and" and insert a comma, and before the word "midwifery" strike out the words "to practice." On page 12, lines 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, strike out the words "The health officer of the District of Columbia shall, ex officio, be secretary of the board of supervisors in medicine and pharmacy aforesaid, and may act as treasurer of said board; but said board may elect any of its members to serve as treasurer" and substitute the following: "Said board shall elect from its membership a secretary and treasurer, respectively." On page 12, line 8, after the word "shall," strike out the comma and the words "in either case." On page 12, line 10, after the words "District of Columbia," insert the word "shall," and after the word "proper," in the same line, insert a comma. On page 12, line 25, after the word "officer," strike out the comma. On page 13, lines 14 and 15, strike out the words "for renewing license as pharmacist, one dollar." On page 13, line 24, strike out the word "several." On page 15, line 12, after the word "Provided," strike out the word "however." On page 15, line 17, after the word "ounce," strike out the colon and insert a period, and strike out the words "Provided, also, That." On "and. page 15, line 25, after the word "grains," strike out the word On page 17, line 5, after the word "Provided," insert the word "further." On page 17, line 21, after the word "or," strike out the word "any." On page 18, lines 23 and 24, strike out the words "Provided, however, That. On page 19, line 2, after the word "Provided,” strike out the word "also." On page 19, line 8, after the word "container," strike out the colon and insert a period, and strike out the words "Provided further, That." On page 19, line 20, after the word "or," insert the word "of." On page 20, strike out section 14. On page 22, line 21, before the word "corporation," insert the word "the." On page 22, line 22, after the word "Act," strike out the remainder of the section. The following is the report made by the Committee on the District of Columbia of the House of Representatives: The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 8997) to regulate the practice of pharmacy and the sale of poisons in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, report the same back to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. This bill, which was transmitted to this committee by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia with the request for its enactment into law, was prepared by the commissioners of pharmacy of the District of Columbia, who have devoted more than six months to its careful consideration and have worked in the light of all the legislation on the subject in force elsewhere which has been accessible to them, and after consultation with the representatives of the different interests which would be affected by the enactment of this measure and with the health officer of the District. Acting on the suggestion of the Commissioners of the District, the commissioners of pharmacy have endeavored, in the preparation of the proposed legislation, to meet all reasonable criticisms, and the same has been unanimously approved at a conference composed of representatives of the physicians, the pharmacists (both employers and employees), and the National College of Pharmacy of the District of Columbia. Your committee gave a public hearing on this measure, which was attended by representatives of the interests that will be affected by this legislation, all of whom earnestly urged favorable action. The law regulating the practice of pharmacy in the District of Columbia was enacted by Congress June 15, 1878. Obviously it is inadequate to meet present-day conditions. Thirty or more years ago drug habits were relatively unknown. Cocaine was then not yet discovered. To-day it has been shown that it is possible in the city of Washington to telephone to a certain drug store for a "headache powder" and receive by special messenger a package of cocaine. The present extent of the cocaine traffic is simply appalling. This condition will be remedied if this measure shall be enacted into law, as section 11 prohibits the sale of these drug-habit drugs except upon the original prescription of a legally authorized practitioner of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine, and section 12 protects those unfortunates who have become addicted to these drugs. The following extracts from Senate Document 74, Fifty-fourth Congress, second session, being a report of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia on the extent of the opium habit in the District, will be of interest at this time, containing, as it does, statistics for the ten years ending June 30, 1895, and it is safe to assume that the statistics for the past ten years, if available, would disclose a very material increase: "During the ten years ending June 30, 1895, the records of the health department show that 7 persons died from the opium habit, 36 persons died from accidental or negligent opium poisoning, and 36 committed suicide with opium or its preparations. It is interesting to note that of the 36 accidental deaths from opium poisoning only 12 were under 5 years of age, while the remainder were over 20 years of age. "In addition there were treated during the same period in the four principal hospitals of this city 125 cases of opium poisoning and 70 patients for the opium habit. Without a most exhaustive collective investigation it is impossible to even estimate the number of persons treated by physicians for acute or chronic opium poisoning who may recover from the immediate effects of the drug or who have died victims of the opium habit, and in which the cause of death may have been assigned to some remote pathological effects of the drug.' The proposed bill is necessarily long because it embodies several features which have been dealt with separately in more progressive States. It includes a general pharmacy law, the fruit of thirty years' experience, a general poison law, an antinarcotic law, and, finally, it centralizes and unifies the work of the medical and phar; maceutical examiners by placing them under the direction of a supervisory board with the health officer of the District of Columbia as ex officio secretary. The following briefly explains the provisions of the various sections: Section 1 describes those whom the bill affects. Section 2 protects those licensed under the old law. Section 3 gives the qualifications of applicants and licensees, both homeopathic and general. Section 4 provides that those thus qualified shall be licensed. Section 5 provides interstate reciprocity in pharmaceutic licensure; a registered pharmacist in any State may, if duly qualified, be registered in the District of Columbia without examination or after limited examination. Section 6 makes the license revocable through fraud, drug addiction, or physical, mental, or moral incapacity, and describes the machinery thereto appertaining. Section 7 provides for the triennial renewal of licenses, a safeguard which experience elsewhere has shown to be necessary; annuls a license obtained by fraud, and requires the license to be displayed. Section 8 describes the personnel of the board of examiners, its organization, meetings, etc. Section 9 changes the present board of supervisors in medicine to a board of supervisors in medicine and pharmacy, defines the relation thereto of the pharmaceutical examiners, its functions and duties, and provides for the transfer of the records of the commissioners of pharmacy. Section 10 describes the fees, provides for expenses and the disposal of any balance remaining. Section 11, the antinarcotic law, dealing especially with opium, morphine, cocaine, and chloral. Section 12 protects those unfortunates who have become addicted to these drugs and the physicians who may have to prescribe for them. Section 13, the general poison law, specifying the precautions under which these substances may be sold. Section 14 prohibits the evasion or defeat of the law by fraud. Section 15 provides for the filing of prescriptions and the proper labeling of all drug packages. Section 16 prohibits peddling and the indiscriminate distribution of samples. Section 18 exempts registered pharmacists from jury duty. The following letter from the Commissioners of the District of Columbia contains a great deal of detailed information on the proposed measure: OFFICE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, SIR: The Commissioners have the honor to transmit herewith a draft of "A bill to regulate the practice of pharmacy and the sale of poisons in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," and to recommend its enactment at the present session. This bill has been prepared by the commissioners of pharmacy of the District of Columbia, who have devoted more than six months to its careful consideration, and have worked in the light of all the legislation on the subject in force elsewhere which has been accessible to them, and after consultation with the representatives of the different interests which would be affected by the enactment of the bill, and with the health officer of the District. Acting on the suggestion of the Commissioners of the District the commissioners of pharmacy have endeavored in the preparation of the bill to meet all reasonable criticisms, and the draft herewith submitted has been unanimously approved at a conference composed of representatives of the physicians, the pharmacists (both employers and employees), and the National College of l'harmacy, of the District of Columbia. The bill proposes to place the work of the pharmaceutical examiners on substantially the same basis as that of the existing boards of medical examiners. The scheme of medical supervision already inaugurated, which embraces a board of supervisors on which the general public is represented by two laymen, has proved so effective in centralizing and harmonizing the work of these boards that provision is made in this bill for its extension, by the admission of the president of the board of pharmaceutical examiners on the board of supervisors in medicine and pharmacy. By section 9 the health officer is made ex officio secretary of the board of supervisors. The treasurer, elected by the board, must give bond approved by the Commissioners of the District, and report to them his receipts and disbursements. Licenses issued by the board are to be countersigned by the president of the examining board in each instance. The records of the board are to be admitted as evidence in the courts, and the board is required to report to the Commissioners annually in July. Under section 10 the fees accruing to the board are to be used, first, to pay its expenses; second, to pay the lay members as directed by the District Commissioners, and any balance remaining may be divided among the several examining boards in proportion to the number of candidates examined by each. Under section 8 the board of pharmaceutical examiners is to be composed of 5 licensed pharmacists of at least five years' experience and actively engaged in their profession, one new appointment to be made each year. The appointees must take oath for the faithful performance of duty, and may be removed by the Commissioners for neglect or other just cause. The board organizes annually by the election from among its members of a president and a secretary, and meets quarterly for the examination of candidates certified to it by the board of supervisors. Provision is made by section 2 for the licensing without fee or examination of pharmacists now registered under the old law, provided application be made on or before December 31. The applicants for examination for licensure must, under section 3, be at least 21 years old, of good moral character, and not addicted to the use of stimulants or narcotics. They must have graduated from a recognized school of pharmacy, a requirement urged with increasing force, not only by the demands upon modern pharmacy, but by State and national organizations of pharmacists, and must, in addition, have had certain practical experience and pass an examination by the board of pharmaceutical examiners. Anyone desiring to limit himself to the practice of homeopathic pharmacy must so state in his application, when the board of supervisors will appoint a committee of three physicians or pharmacists, or both, adherents to the homeopathic system, who shall examine such applicant in homeopathic materia medica and pharmacy. Inasmuch as there are no schools or colleges of homeopathic pharmacy, such applicants are not required to be graduates, but in all other respects they must have the same qualifications as are required of other applicants. Reciprocity of licensure, with other States or Territories and with foreign countries, is provided for in section 5 in such manner as best to secure the interests of the people of the District and its pharmacists without excluding competent and qualified practitioners from elsewhere. Under section 6 licenses may be revoked for fraud, drug addiction, physical or mental incapacity, immorality or after conviction of moral turpitude, after investigation to be made by the District Commissioners through the police department and action taken by the supreme court sitting in equity. Past experience and present conditions having demonstrated the unwisdom of granting licenses in perpetuity, pharmacists themselves have devised means, as set forth in section 7, whereby licenses shall be granted for but a limited period. They may, however, be renewed triennially upon payment of a nominal fee and proof of the identity of the holder. The protection thus afforded both the general public and the pharmaceutical interest is obvious. In every store the license or permit issued to the owner or manager thereof must be conspicuously displayed, which gives a further assurance to the public that its interests are there conserved. Among the most important features of the bill are the provisions in sections 11 and 13 with reference to the sale of narcotics and poisons. The appalling increase in the use of narcotic drugs and the frequent fatal cases of poisoning, due to ignorance and carelessness in handling potent remedies and chemicals, demand increasing restrictions upon the sale of these substances. This is evidenced by the statutes yearly enacted by the several States. These sections, based upon the recommendations of the American Pharmaceutical Association and modified by the practical experience of the States which have already enacted such laws, are comprehensive without being oppressive, and afford a reasonable protection to the public without too great interference with trade rights. In the first place, the sale of cocaine, morphine, opium, and chloral is prohibited by section 11, except upon the original prescription of a legally authorized practioner of medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine; and even such prescriptions are, in the case of habitués, so restricted by section 12 as to protect rather than harm the latter. At the same time such exceptions are made that the proposed legislation will in no wise interfere with the lawful performance of the professional functions of those practioners, nor with the proper treatment of the unfortunate vic ims of such habits. With reference to the larger class of chemicals and poisons, the same regard is had for the welfare of the community. Certain nonpoisonous chemicals, of daily use in the domestic economy, and such "patent" and "proprietary" articles as do not contain poisonous ingredients, are specifically exempted by section 1. The sale of poisonous substances, however, is uniformly restricted. With a few exceptions, which are specified in section 13, they can be sold only under a label bearing the word "poison" plainly printed in red ink, and, where practicable, the label must also include the name of at least one suitable antidote. In other cases a record must also be made of the sale as heretofore. Exemptions are made here also to protect the recognized rights and privileges of regular dealers and wholesalers. Section 15 provides that in all cases the container must bear the name of the drug or drugs therein contained or directions for using the same. Fraudulent representations in the effort to evade these restrictions are prohibited by section 14, as is the peddling or distribution of drugs, medicines, or chemicals about the streets or from house to house, the latter prohibition being already incorporated in the police regulations now in force. The use of the title pharmacist, druggist, and the like is restricted by section 17 to those only who legally are entitled thereto. Pharmacists in active practice are by section 18 exempted from jury duty. A general penalty clause in section 19 concludes with a provision making it the duty of the major and superintendent of police and of the corporation counsel to enforce the act. The final section repeals all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act. Very respectfully, Hon. J. W. BABCOCK, HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND, President Board of Commissioners District of Columbia. Chairman Committee on District of Columbia, House of Representatives. Ο |