Sale of Poisons

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 34, 3 November 1933, Page 13

Sale of Poisons

Si r> —At last meeting of the Pharmacy Board o£ New Zealand, attended by members elected to represent chemists in all parts of the Dominion, the following resolution was carried unanimously, with the instruction that it be transmitted to the Premier, the Minister of Health, and other representatives of the Government; also that it be sent to the Press for publication;:— “That the Pharmacy Board views with very great alarm the possibility that .the Poisons Bill may not come before Parliament this session. The Health Department, the Police Department, and the Pharmacy Board are fully cognisant of the need for the proper regulation of the sale of poisons: and the Pharmacy Board states emphatically that the matter is urgent in the public interest, and calls upon the Government to introduce the necessary legislation without delay.” Apart from' those whose business it is to handle poisons, there are urobably few who realise the fact that the law governing the sale of poisons is more obsolete and ineffective in New Zealand than in any other part of the Empire. Our Poisons Act dates from 1868, without amendment. Many lethal drugs may be sold without any legal restrictions to-day, simply because they were not known in 1868. and are therefore not scheduled as poisons. Some of them are known to have been used by persons concerned in criminal prosecutions during the past year or two, in this country. Chemists have nothing to gain in this matter: in fact proper legal restrictions upon poisons would merely add to the lengthy list of formalities that they are already confronted with. The Pharmacy Board in seeking publicity for its resolution, hopes that public interest may be aroused, and that suitable action by the proper authorities may follow.—l am, etc.. E. C. CACHEMAILLE. Registrar. Wellington, November 1, .