Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1906, (In two parts), Part I

Minister Wilson to the Secretary of State.

Legation of the United States,
Brussels, December 20, 1906.

No. 142.]

Sir: I have the honor to report the signing on November 29 last of the “Arrangement pour l’Unification de la Formule des Medicaments Héroiques” by all the represented powers, except Portugal, whose plenipotentiary, under instructions from his Government, declined to affix his signature.

It will be observed that the reservation which I made, according to your instructions, have been duly noted in the agreement and procès verbal of signature.

I transmit herewith a certified copy of the agreement, together with three additional copies, and a certified copy of the procès verbal, together with three additional copies.

I have, etc., etc., etc.,

Henry Lane Wilson.

[Inclosure.—Translation.]

Agreement respecting the unification of the pharmacopœial formulas for potent drugs.

The Governments of Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Hungary, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, the United States of America, France, Greece, Italy, the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Servia, Sweden, and Switzerland, having recognized the utility of concluding an agreement with a view to the unification of the pharmacopœial formulas for potent drugs on the basis indicated in the final protocol signed on the 20th September, 1902, as a result of the conference held at Brussels, the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, have agreed upon the following stipulations:

Article 1.

The medicinal substances inscribed in the table given below shall be designated in the Pharmacopœia published by each of the contracting Governments by the Latin names employed in this table and shall conform with the directions indicated in the column opposite.

Latin names and synonyms of drugs and preparations.	Pharmaceutical directions.
Aconitum napellus (L.)
Aconiti tuber seu Tuber aconiti	Use only the tuber of the current year, dried. Powdered drug to be used entire, without separation of residue.
Aconiti tinctura seu Tinctura aconiti	Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent by volume). Tincture to be standardized to 0.05 per cent of total alkaloids.
Atropa tincture seu Tinctura aconite
Belladonnae folium seu follum belladonnae	Use only the leaf, dried. Powdered drug to be used entire.
Belladonnae tinctura seu Tinctura belladonnae.	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent).
Belladonnae extractum seu Extractum belladonnae.	Prepare a solid extract (containing about 10 per cent of water) by means of alcohol (70 per cent).
Colchicum autumnale (L.)
Colchici semen seu Semen colchici	Use only the seed.
Colchici tinctura seu Tinctura colchici	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent).
Digitalis purpurea (L.)
Digitalis folium seu Folium digitalis	Use the leaf of the second year. Powdered drug to be used entire.
Digitalis tinctura seu Tinctura digitalis	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent).
Uragoga ipecacuanha. Baill
Ipecacuanhae radix seu Radix ipecacuanhae	Powder only the root-bark, rejecting the woody portion. The powder should have an alkaloidal strength of 2 per cent.
Ipecacuanhae tinctura seu Tinctura ipecacuanhae.	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent).
Ipecacuanhae sirupus seu Sirupus ipecacuanhae	Prepare with 10 per cent of the tincture.
Hyoscyamus niger (L.)
Hyoscyami folium seu Folium hyoscyami	Use only the leaf.
Hyoscyami tinctura seu Tinctura hyoscyami	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent).
Hyoscyami extractum seu Extractum hyoscyamL	Prepare a solid extract (containing about 10 per cent of water) by means of alcohol (70 per cent).
Strychnos nux vomica (L.)
Strychni semen seu Semen strychni seu nux vomica.	Alkaloidal strength (of powdered drug) 2.5 per cent.
Strychni tinctura seu Tinctura strychni; Nucis vomicae tinctura seu Tinctura nucis vomicae.	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent). Alkaloidal strength 0.25 per cent.
Strychm extractum seu Extractum strychni; Nucis vomicae extractum seu Extractum nucis vomicae.	Prepare by means of alcohol (70 per cent). Alkaloidal strength 0.16 per cent.
Opii pulvis seu Pulvis opii	Powder to be dried at 60° C. Strength in morphine 10 per cent.
Opii extractum seu Extractum opii	Strength in morphine 20 per cent.
Opii tinctura seu Tinctura opii	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent). Strength in morphine 1 per cent.
Opii tinctura crocata seu Tinctura opii crocata seu Laudanum sydenhami.	Strength in morphine 1 per cent.
Opii et ipecacuanhae pulvis compositus seu Pulvis doveri.	To contain 10 per cent of Pulvis opii.
Opii tinctura benzoica seu Tinctura opii benzoica.	Strength in morphine 0.05 per cent.
Strophanthi tinctura seu Tinctura strophanthi.	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent). Seeds not to be freed from fat.
Sclerotium clavicepitis purpae Tul. seu Clavicepitis purpuras Tul. sclerotium.
Secale cornutum seu Ergotum secale	Ergot to be not more than one year old and kent whole.
Secalis cornuti extractum seu Extractum secalis eornuti; Ergoti extractum seu Extractum ergoti.	Prepare a watery extract and make up with alcohol (60 per cent).
Secalis cornuti extractum fluidum seu Extractum fluidum secalis cornuti; Ergoti extractum fluidum seu extractum fluidum ereoti.	Strength 100 per cent.
Acidum hydrocyanicum dilutum	Strength 2 per cent.
Lauroeerasi aqua sen Aqua laurocerasi	Strength 0.10 per cent.
Amygdalae amarae aqua seu Aqua amygdalae amarae.	Strength 0.10 per cent.
Phenoli solutio seu Aqua phenolata	Strength 2 per cent.
Arsenas sodii seu Sodii arsenas; Arsenicicum natrium sen Natrium arsenieimim.	The crystallized salt, containing 36.85 per cent of arsenic acid.
Arsenicalis liquor Eowleri seu Liquor arsenicalis Fowleri seu Kalii arsenicosi liquor.	Strength in arsenious acid 1 per cent.
Ferri iodidi sirupus seu Sirupus iodeti ferrosi seu Sirupus ferri iodati.	Strength in anhydrous ferrous iodide 5 per cent.
Cantharidis tinctura seu Tinctura cantharidis	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent).
Iodi tinctura seu Tinctura iodi	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare with alcohol (95 per cent).
Lobeliae tinctura seu Tinctura lobeliae	Strength 10 per cent. Prepare by percolation with alcohol (70 per cent)
Cocainum hydrochloricum	The anhydrous salt.
Hydrargyri unguentum seu Unguentum hydrargyri.	Strength 30 per cent.
Antimoniale vinum seu Vinum antimoniale; Stibiatum vinum seu Vinum stibiatum.	Strength in tartar emetic 0.40 per cent.

Article 2.

So far as regards substances other than those which appear in the table contained in article 1, and which may hereafter be included in the pharmacopœias, the contracting Governments undertake that the following rules shall apply:

(a) No potent drug shall be directed to be prepared in the form of a medicinal wine (vinum).

(b) Tinctures of potent drugs shall be directed to be prepared of the strength of 10 per cent and by percolation.

(c) Fluid extracts of potent drugs shall be prepared of the strength of 100 per cent.

Article 3.

The contracting Governments shall adopt a normal drop measure, the external diameter of whose outlet tube shall be exactly 3 millimeters; that is to say, which, at a temperature of 15 degrees centigrade and with distilled water, shall yield 20 drops to the gram.

Article 4.

Governments which have not taken part in the present agreement shall be allowed at their own request to signify their adhesion to it. Such adhesion shall be notified, through the proper diplomatic channel, to the Belgian Government, and by it to the other signatory Governments.

Article 5.

The present agreement shall come into force one month after the date of its signature. It is understood, nevertheless, that the stipulations of articles 1, 2, and 3 shall not become binding upon any one of the contracting parties until the publication of a new issue, or of a supplement, of its Pharmacopœia.

Article 6.

In case one or other of the contracting parties shall denounce the present agreement, such denunciation shall take effect only so far as regards itself, and then only six months after the day upon which such denunciation shall have been notified to the Belgian Government.

In witness whereof the undersigned have signed the present agreement.

Done at Brussels, the 29th November, 1906, in a single instrument, of which an exact copy shall be delivered to each of the signatory Governments.

[Here follow signatures.]

procès verbal of signature.

The undersigned, duly authorized, have met together on the 29th November, 1906, at the Belgian ministry for foreign affairs in order to proceed to the signature of the act intended to give diplomatic sanction to the resolutions adopted by the conference which assembled at Brussels in the month of September, 1902, with a view to the unification of the pharmacopœial formulas for potent drugs.

At the moment of affixing their signatures to the said act, the representatives of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the United States of America, Great Britain, Portugal, and Sweden have formulated, in the name of their respective Governments, the following reservations:

I.—Reservations formulated by the German Government.^a—The Imperial Government does not impose upon itself, by the fact of signing the present agreement, any other obligation beyond that of exercising its influence, when the proper time arrives—that is to say, at the date of the next revision of the German Pharmacopœia, in order to bring the latter into conformity with the present agreement.

At the same time, the Imperial Government reserves to itself the right of introducing into the stipulations of this agreement any modifications which, on the one hand, appear necessary in order to take account of the progress of medical and pharmaceutical science, and which, on the other hand, may be desirable from the point of view of the unification of the German Pharmacopœia.

II.—Reservations formulated by the Austrian Government.—So far as regards opii pulvis the Austrian Government reserves to itself the right of permitting the sale of the pure drug containing, as a maximum, 12 per cent of morphine.

III.—Reservations formulated by the Government of the United States of America.—The Government of the United States does not assume by the fact of signing the present agreement any other obligation beyond that of exercising its influence in order that, at the next revision of the American Pharmacopœia, the latter may be brought into harmony with the said agreement.

IV.—Reservations formulated by the Government of His Britannic Majesty.—The Government of His Britannic Majesty declares that it reserves the right of introducing into the stipulations of the present agreement such modifications in detail as the progress of medical and pharmaceutical science may render necessary from time to time.

The Government of His Britannic Majesty further declares that it reserves the right of adhering to the agreement and of denouncing it, with reference to each of the British colonies or possessions separately.

V.—Reservations formulated by the Portuguese Government.—The resolutions of the international conference held at Brussels for the unification of the pharmacopceial formulas of potent drugs shall be applied in Portugal. Nevertheless the vernacular Portuguese name of each substance shall appear in the text of the pharmacopœia, and shall be adopted as the primary denomination; one of the Latin names inscribed in the table contained in article 1 of the present agreement shall be used as the first synonymous denomination.

VI.—Reservations formulated by the Swedish Government.—1. The denominations of the potent drugs enumerated in the present agreement differing entirely from those employed in the Swedish Pharmacopœia shall not be inscribed in the text itself of that Pharmacopœia, but shall appear in a special supplement to the new issue of the Pharmacopœia which is in course of preparation;

2. The denomination of the medicinal wine vinum glycyrrhizœ opiatum shall be maintained in Sweden;

3. As the preparation of tinctures of drugs by percolation involves an increase in the price of these products, this method seems not altogether suitable for employment in a general manner.

At the moment of proceeding to the signature of the present proems verbal the undersigned declare themselves in accord in recognizing that the right referred to in the first reservation formulated by the Government of His Britannic Majesty is acquired by all the signatory Governments.

It is understood that the contracting parties which exercise this right will inform each other, reciprocally, through the intermediary of the Belgian Government, of any modifications introduced into the stipulations of the agreement.

In witness whereof the undersigned have drawn up the present procès verbal.

Done at Brussels the 29th November, 1906, in a single instrument, of which an exact copy shall be delivered to each of the signatory Governments.

[Here follow signatures.]

1. Not printed.