Jones Miller Act an Important Check on Opiate Traffic Peking, July 5.
The following report has been issued by the International Anti-Opium Association, Peking The Jones Miller Bill has been passed into-law in the United States, and in. the words of the Secretary of the China Club, Seattle, Dr. McKibben: The United States may now face the other nations of the world with a clear conscience." This Bill, upon which all anti-opium associations have been reckoning for months past, is a victorly not less important than the passage of the British Dangerous Drugs Act in 1920, This Bill makes it certain 1.—That the import of opium and all narcotics into the United States is unlawful except by permit of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce, and then only for legitimate medical use.
2.~—That the export of opium and all narcotics shall only Be allowed on permit by the two Government officers above mentioned, and then only to countries which have signed and are fulfilling the terms of The Hague Convention and further that the importing country shall furnish adequate proof that the drug is to be used exclusively for medical purposes within the country, that it will not be re-exported, and further that there is an actual shortage of the particular narcotic drug for medical use in the country desiring importations, 3.—That the privilege of in transit shipments is hereby withdrawn in so far as it applies to shipments of opium, cocaine and their salts, derivates and preparations, unless shipments are approved by the Secretary of As far as the East is concerned, the passage of this Bill may be a big blow to the morphia and cocaine import trade carried on by Japanese. Great Britain and Europe cannot now export vid -America, and a large proportion of morphia handled by Japanese came to China in this manner. This route being now closed some improvement may be hoped for. It considerably narrows the source of supply and enables the blame to be more definitely placed where it belongs.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.