Pharmaceutical Association Meets at Pittsburgh A. S T A F F R E P O R T
ITH more than 1,200 pharmacists a n d pharmaceutical chemists in a t t e n d a n c e , t h e American Pharmaceutical Association renewed its annual meetings a t the H o t e l William Penn at P i t t s b u r g h , Aug. 25 to 3 0 . T h i s 92nd meeting w a s the first held sinc^ 1944, t h e 1945 m e e t i n g being canceled b e cause of war conditions. T h e highlights of t h e meeting were a d dresses delivered b y Major General N o r m a n T . Kirk, Surgeon General of the U n i t e d S t a t e s Army, and P a u l B. D u n b a r , U. S . Commissioner of F o o d s and Drugs. O t h e r speakers included George A. M o u l t o n , president of t h e American Pharmaceutical Association, E d w a r d C. Elliott of t h e American Council of Education, a n d C o m m a n d e r W. Paul Briggs, director of t h e V e t e r a n s ' Administration P h a r m a c y Serv ice. Major General K i r k , in his a d d r e s s , outlined the A r m y ' s new Medical Service Corps which will include pharmacists, onticians, sanitary engineers, etc. T h i s address promoted a h e a t e d debate b e t w e e n General Kirk and m e m b e r s of the associa tion as to t h e necessit}' of pharmacists being placed in t h i s over-all corps, since a Pharmacists Corps has already b e e n authorized b y Congress. Dunbar, i n discussing federal control o\ r er t h e distribution of barbiturates a n d other sleep-producing drugs, s t a t e d : f t A federal law would b e too complicated a n d drastic. Uniform s t a t e laws would b e more satisfactory. A n u m b e r of states n o w restrict the sale of sleep-producing drugs t o physicians' prescriptions a n d it is a v e r y satisfactory procedure in those states." Edtcard C
Elliot
The association's highest award, the Ebert l?rize, w a s presented for the years L945 a n d 1946·. Paul J. J a n n k e of the University of N e b r a s k a College of P h a r macy received the 1945 a w a r d for out s t a n d i n g work o n the chemistry and medic inal action of s o d i u m m o r r h u a t e , a drug used t o treat varicose \ r eins. Howard Jensen, a pharmacy g r a d u a t e student, r e ceived special mention as collaborator. T h e 1946 prize was awarded t o Lloyd W. Irlazclton, pliarxnacist and pharmacologist of Washington, D . C , for basic research on senna, a widely used laxative. Dr. Hazelfcon's experiments on mice, which lasted nearly two years, were aimed a t securing a more complete picture of how to test t h e s t r e n g t h of· t h e drug a n d evaluate its l a x a t i v e action. The American College of Apothecaries, a n affiliated organization, presented its award for outstanding work in pharmacy during 1946 t o Perry Foote of the Uni versity of Florida. Scientific
Section
More than 4 5 papers dealing with t h e •synthesis of mew drugs, analytical pro cedure,, pharmacognosy, a n d pharmacology ΛΥΟΓΟ p r e s e n t e d before t h e scientific sec tion of" the association. The successful synthesis of folic acid, ii vitaminlike compound occurring in m i n u t e quantities in the liver a n d used in the treatment of anemia, was m a d e public for Ihe· first t i m e by C. W . Waller, J a m e s Booth, and Raymond W. Cunningham of Lcdcrle Laboratories during a special symposium. Paxs.1 Dun-har
