A poison may therefore be swallowed, applied to the
skin, injected into the tissues, or introduced into any orifice of the
body.
II.--SALE OF POISONS; SCHEDULED POISONS
The sale of poisons is regulated by various Acts, but chiefly by the
Pharmacy Act, 1868, and by the Poisons and Pharmacy Act, 1908. Only
registered medical practitioners and legally qualified druggists are
permitted to dispense and sell scheduled poisons. They are responsible
for any errors which may be committed in the sale of poisons. If a
druggist knows that a drug in a prescription is to be used for an
improper purpose, he may refuse to dispense it. The practitioner who
carelessly prescribes a drug in a poisonous dose is not held
responsible, but the dispenser would be if he dispensed it and harmful
or fatal consequences followed on its being swallowed. When a dispenser
finds an error in a prescription, it is his duty to communicate with the
prescriber privately pointing out the mistake.
A great responsibility rests on the medical man who does his own
dispensing, as there is no one to check his work.
If a doctor prescribes a drug with the intention of curing or preventing
a disease, but that, contrary to expectation and general experience, it
causes illness or even death, no responsibility can rest with the
prescriber.
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