Page 14 - Pharmacy History 33 November 2007

Unlike Great Britain where the Pharmaceutical Society had control over both education and registration, the Pharmacy Act was to separate
the functions of education from registration and examination. The Pharmacy Board, appointed by
the Governor in Council, would
be the regulatory body with the Pharmaceutical Society responsible for education. The Bill finally passed on 8 November 1876.
The Sale and Use of Poisons Act
of 1876 was passed at the same
time as the Pharmacy Act of 1876. Pharmaceutical chemists were not
able to practice medicine or surgery – “except in accordance with rights and privileges hitherto enjoyed by chemists and druggists in their open shops.” They could see that if a suitable act of parliament regulated the sale of drugs and poisons with them as the major custodians, then their position in the group of medical professionals was protected. Joseph Bosisto introduced the Poisons Bill. He pointed out that
it was not linked to the Pharmacy Bill, as was the situation in Great Britain, where poisons control was completely in the hands of pharmaceutical chemists. As he said, “In this country it was necessary that storekeepers should be in a position to supply poisons to meet various agricultural and pastoral requirements, so long as they were competent and had a license.” “The bill enabled the Governor in Council to make regulations for the sale of poisons and it provided that the measure should not extend to the
sale of any poison when made up
or compounded in accordance with the prescription of a legally qualified medical practitioner.” It provided for the safety of the public but did not interfere with the legitimate trade
in poisons. The Sale of Poisons Bill passed with much less discussion than the Pharmacy Bill, on December 13,
1876. Administration of the Poisons Act as well as the Pharmacy Act was to rest with the Pharmacy Board, which after the first appointments, consisted of members elected from the register of pharmaceutical chemists.
Internet.
1. Glyn-Jones, William Samuel, (1869-1927), The Law Relating to Poisons and Pharmacy, London: Butterworth, 1909. Accessed internet, 11 09 2006, 2.55pm. Thomson Gale, http://galenet.galegroup. com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/servlet/MOML?af= RN&ae=F153491&srchtp=a&ste=14
14 ■ Pharmacy History Australia
volume 4 ■ no 34 ■ February 2008
As the nineteenth century progressed,
the unregulated sale of dangerous Newspapers.
poisons and medicines was seen
by both the medical professions
and politicians to be undesirable
both in Great Britain and in
Victoria. The development of the professions of medical practitioner
and pharmaceutical chemist, from
the earlier apothecary and the statutes regulating their academic requirements and spheres of practice also influenced the passing of regulations controlling drugs and poisons. The legislation, under the supervision of the Pharmacy Board, was a significant measure to ensure a role for the pharmaceutical chemist within the spectrum of
the medical profession. To achieve that end, in Victoria, there is strong evidence that the Pharmaceutical Society at first prevented and later supported legislation restricting the sale of drugs and poisons.
Bibliography Primary Sources
1. Hansard Debates Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of Victoria, 1856-7, Melbourne: Fairfax Co. 1857.
2. Kimberly, W.B. ed. Ballarat and Vicinity, Ballarat: F.W.Niven, 1895.
3. Rawleigh, W.T. Rawleigh Methods, 1889, Freeport: The Rawleigh Publishing Company, 1938.
4. Sands and McDougall’s, Melbourne and Suburban Directory: 1863-1901.
5. Smith, L.L. L.L. Smith’s Medical Almanac, 1860-1919.A Handbook for the Mothers of Australia and a Vade Victorian Parliamentary Debates; Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, Vols 24-25 1876-7, Melbourne: John Ferres Publisher, 1877.
6. Wakefield, George, Letters 1853-1888, selection in Bowen, Keith McRae, Goldrush Doctors at Ballarat, Mulgrave: Magenta Press, 1977
1. Argus Newspaper, 11 August, 1856.
2. Argus Newspaper, 7 March, 1857
3. Argus Newspaper, 16 April, 1878.
4. The Age Newspaper, 21 October, 1870.
5. The Age Newspaper, 23 December, 1876.
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1. Bomford, Janette M. and David Newgreen, The Pharmacy Board of Victoria: a History, 1877-2005, Parkville: Pharmacy Board of Victoria, 2005.
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3. Carson, Gerald, One for a Horse, Two for a Man, New York: Bramhall House, 1961.
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6. Feehan, H.V., Bond and Link: Pharmacy Organisations and Education in Victoria, Australia. 1857-1977. Parkville: Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria, 1978.
7. Fellows of AATSE, Technology in Australia 1788-1988: a condensed history of Australian technological innovation and adaptation during the first two hundred years. Melbourne: Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 1988.
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10. Hyslop, Andrea, Sovereign Remedies: A History of the Ballarat Base Hospital, 1850s to 1980s, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 1989.
11. Knehans, Michelle M., The Archaeology and History of Pharmacy in Victoria. Australian Historical Archaeology, Vol. 23 2005, pp 41-46.
12. Martyr, Phillipa, Paradise of Quacks: an alternative history of medicine in Australia, Paddington: Macleay\ Press,2002.
13. Pensabene, T.S., The Rise of the Medical Practitioner in Victoria, Canberra: Australian National University, 1980.
14. Stirling, Alfred, Joseph Bosisto, Melbourne: Hawthorn Press, 1970.
15. Todd, R.G., ed., Extra Pharmacopoeia: Martindale, Twenty-fifth Edition, London: The Pharmaceutical Press, 1967.