DANGEROUS DRUGS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 14 January 1929, Page 7

DANGEROUS DRUGS.

CONTROL. IN DOMINION. NEW RHGU RATIONS I SSL ED. The ji-e\v regulations under the Dangerous Drugs Act. 1927, contain much that is dI moment to doctors, dentists, wholesale and. retail manufacturing chemists, veterinary surgeons and others handling- or prescribing such drugs. The Wealth Department has issued an explanatory circular, dealing with new regulations. The drugs to which the Dangerous Drug Act applies are briefly as follows : Rhiw opium, prepared opium, medicinal opium, morphia, calculated as in respect of anhydrous morphine) and its salts, diacetylmorpliiue (commonly known as diamorphine- or heroin) and its salts' any preparation eo ntai ni n g die cety 1 1 norphin e, coca-leaf, crude cocaine, cocaine, (including synthetic cocaine) and its salts, ecognine (means Jaevo-eo-ognine. and includes any derivations of ecognine from which it may he recovered industrially) and its salts, Indian hemp (any resin preparation, extract, or tincture ol‘ Indian hemp). Any preparation containing not more than 0.2 per cent, of morphine nor more than 0.1. per cent, of cocaine or ecognine (alls outside the Act. There are certain exemptions which are quoted in (let-ail in the circular.

All prescriptions without exception .must be in writing and signed personally by the practitioner, with name and a dress of the person for whose- use the prescription is given. Where an unusual quantity, or what might bo regarded as a dangerous dose of a dangerous drug is prescribed, tire dose has to he underlined. The prescription is to be retained by the person dispensing it.

RULES REGARDING PRESCRIPTIONS.

Special conditions include the following:—A medical practitioner in emergency may, orally or by telephone, direct a registered chemist to whom he is known personally to dispense for a person a N dangerous drug, but shall forthwith reduce such prescription to writing and transmit to the chemist; may only prescribe in any case for the purposes of medical treatment; must understand that his prescription shall be dispensed only once, unless, if he so directs on the prescription, it may be dispensed on not more than three oeca~ sions, at intervals to be specified on the prescription. No person other than a medical practitioner can give an oral prescription or a “repeat”, prescription: presenters should instruct the recipient of a prescription that it cannot be repeated without written authority (or. in the case of authorised repeats, the number of repeats—not more than two). The circular states:—-“It is desired to impress as strongly as possible on doctors, dentists and vetinerary surgeans the importance of observing these requirements strictly when giving a prescription. Any irregularity may lead to delay and it is extremely unfair to the chemist that he -should he placed in the position of delaying an onportant prescription and possibly Oifending both the preseriber and patient in preference to committing a breach of the law*” If veterinary mixtures used by taiin■rs and stockowners are -sufficiently diluted tbev will fall outside the operation o ft be Act. Sheer dips, sprays and other similar poisonous compounds used for agricultural and horticultural purposes are not affected by the legulutions. OBLIGATIONS ON CHEMISTS. Certain obligations, are imposed upon the chemist, uniform with those imposed upon doctors and others. He must retain and hold a prescription for one year: he must nyt deliver a dangerous drug dispensed pursuant to a prescription other than by personal delivery, or delivery through post, or deliverythrough a common carrier direct to the patient for whose use the prescription is, or delivery to- some other person who lta-s authority from the patient t» accept delivery. 'Provision i.s also made lor dealing with drugs that are diluted. Opium and its derivatives have for a long, time in. New Zealand been prohibited drugs and have been controlled solely by the customs, anci a strict account has been kept, not only of the amount imported, but its disposition. This did not formerly apply to cocaine and what is familiarly known asj “snow.” but both of these will now come under the regulations. There is provision in the Act whereby any other drugs found to- be habit-forming may be included bv 'Order-in-Couno.il.