INTRODUCTION.

On account of the general interest manifest in the subject of drug legislation and the repeated requests that are coming to the Bureau of Chemistry for information on the subject from Federal and State legislators, physicians, and druggists, it was considered desirable to collect into bulletin form for ready reference all existing laws at present in force which have been enacted for the purpose of minimizing the sale of adulterated and deteriorated drugs, and for safeguarding the public health by restricting the sale of poisonous and habitproducing drugs.

In order to obtain the latest and most authentic information regarding recent drug legislation and enforcement of the same, a circular letter was addressed to the various State boards of health, pharmaceutical boards, and other officials charged with the enforcement of drug laws, and the numerous replies form the basis of the remarks preceding the laws of each State.

The following statement explains the system of references used in this publication:

Two classes of references are employed, which, for convenience, may be designated as "general" and "historical." The former show where the law may be found in one of the most recent compilations of the State statutes or in session laws issued subsequently to the publication of the compiled statutes. Such references are placed in a separate line following the sections to which they refer. Each general reference covers all sections included between it and the general reference just preceding.

The aim of the "historical" references is to indicate where the law may be found as originally enacted in substantially (although not always exactly) the present form. These references do not attempt a complete history of all the amendments to the laws, and are intended merely to indicate the length of time the law given, or a similar one, has been enacted. These references are found in italics at the end of certain sections. If in parentheses the reference relates only to the immediately preceding section; otherwise it relates to all sections included between this reference and the preceding one, either "general" or "historical.”