DRUG MENACE

Southland Times, Issue 19895, 14 June 1926, Page 8

DRUG MENACE

NARCOTIC REGULATIONS DRUGGIST EXPLAINS ACT PREVENTION OF ILLICIT TRAFFIC. (Special to the Times.) Dunedin, June 13. “If any are selling drugs, they must be doing so illegally, but how they can do so without coming into contact with the Customs I don’t know,” stated a Dunedin druggist to-day. He stated that there was no need to amend the Poisons Act, as there was much power given by the regulations known as the “O.M.H.C. Act” of 1921, under the Opium Act of 1903 and the Treaties of Peace Act, 1919. That Act covered the importation and sale of narcotics, such as opium, morphine, heroin, and cocaine. Clause 2 states —“No person shall import into or export from New Zealand opium, morphine, heroin, or cocaine without a permit from the Minister of Customs.” The Collector of Customs may provisionally veto the exportation of any of those narcotics wherever on any grounds he is not satisfied as to the purpose of such exportation or as to the ultimate destination. Wherever such veto is exercised the circumstances are to be reported to the Minister for confirmation of the veto or otherwise. In judging the propriety of exercising any veto of exportation the Minister and the collector shall take into consideration the terms of Article 13 of the International Opium Convention, signed at The Hague on January 23, 1912, as follows —“The contracting Powers shall use their best endeavours to adopt, or cause to be adopted, measures to ensure that morphine, cocaine, and their respective salts shall not be exported from their countries, possessions, colonies, and leased territories to the countries, possessions, colonies, and leased territories of the other contracting Powers except when consigned to persons furnished with the licenses or permits provided for by the laws or regulations of the importing country. With this object each Government may communicate from time to time to the Governments of the exporting countries lists of the persons to whom licenses or permits for the import of morphine, cocaine, and their respective salts have been granted.” An O.M.H.C. book is issued to every chemist and retailer. Except when the drugs are sold to a registered medical practitioner, a duly qualified veterinary surgeon, a registered chemist, a manufacturing chemist, a hospital board, a dentist, the licensee or manager of a private hospital, or any such person approved by the Minister, the drugs must be signed for. In any case, all particulars of the sale are recorded in the book. On March 31 and September 30 the importer and exporter shall take stock and balance his OJ4.H.C. book. In the event of the amount of the drug in the books failing to correspond with the amount actually in stock he shall enter in the book the explanation of the cause of the discrepancy. On reasonable request the O.M.H.C. book must be shown for inspection to the collector or other officers of Customs, a constable, or any person appointed by the Minister. That Act, said the druggist, stopped the illicit sale of drugs. Mrs Herbert, of Christchurch, had stated that large quantities of drugs were being obtained from chemists. What did she mean by large quantities? he asked. The usual quantity for medicinal purposes was 1 to 1 grain of morphine. A drug addict could take from 10 to 20 grains per day. In saying that large quantities were being used, Mrs Herbert might have meant an ounce or more. There were 437 i grains of morphia in an ounce of the drug. He was sure chemists were not practising an illegal trade in drugs. Morphine was prescribed by doctors for patients with incurable cancer, so that the excruciating pain was alleviated. He again stressed the point that chemists would hardly risk their licenses by carrying on a drug traffic. An amendment to the Act at present in force in England was proposed, he stated. It would deal with the sale of certain sleep-producing drugs, known as hypnotics, such as veronal, sulphonal, luroonal, etc.