Text-book of forensic medicine and toxicologyBuchanan, R. J. M. (Robert James McLean)
Science
Text-book of forensic medicine and toxicology
Buchanan, R. J. M. (Robert James McLean)
Medical jurisprudence; Poisons
Section 23 enacts that, “_Whosoever shall unlawfully administer to, or
cause to be administered to, or taken by any other person, any poison
or other destructive or noxious thing so as thereby to endanger the
life of such person, or so as thereby to inflict upon such person any
grievous bodily harm, shall be guilty of a felony_.”
Section 24. “_Whosoever shall unlawfully or maliciously administer to
or cause to be administered to or taken by any other person any poison
or other destructive or noxious thing with intent to injure or aggrieve
or annoy such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour._”
Section 25. “_If upon the trial of any person charged with the felony
above mentioned the jury shall not be satisfied that such person
is guilty thereof, but shall be satisfied that he is guilty of the
misdemeanour above mentioned, then, and in every such case, the jury
may acquit the accused for such felony and find him guilty of a
misdemeanour._”
=Administration of Noxious Drugs.=--The law throws on the medical
witness the responsibility of the definition of a _noxious thing_, and
whether it was given in excess, or liable to cause annoyance or injury
to health. At a Bodmin Assize, Lord Chief-Justice Cockburn, after
consultation with Mr. Justice Hawkins, delivered an important judgment
on the subject. A man was charged with having administered cantharides
with criminal intent. The judges ruled that there must not only be
an administration of a noxious drug with a guilty intent, but the
drug must have been administered in such quantities as to be noxious,
whereas the dose here given was too small to be seriously deleterious.
Distinction was drawn between a drug like cantharides, which is only
noxious when given in excess, and strychnine, a well-established
poison. Acquittal was therefore directed. In the case of R. _v._ Cramp,
the prisoner was charged with having administered half an ounce of
oil of juniper with intent to procure abortion. He was convicted, but
appealed on the legal ground that the substance must be noxious in
itself, and not only when given in excess. Lord Coleridge ruled that
“if a person administers with intent to produce miscarriage something
which _as administered_ is ‘noxious,’ he administers a ‘noxious thing.’”
=The Sale of Poisons.=--The law, by the Pharmacy Act, 1868, and its
amendments, restricts the sale of poisons to pharmaceutical chemists,
chemists and druggists, and registered medical practitioners. The Acts
define and indicate by schedule “Poisons within the meaning of the
Act.” The Schedule of Poisons, as amended in the “Poisons and Pharmacy
Act, 1908,” and “Additions to Schedule 1913,” is:
SCHEDULE OF POISONS
[_As amended by Orders in Council_]
Part I
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account