Poisons and Pharmacy Act, 1908

Regulation of sale of certain poisonous substances for agricultural and horticultural purposes.

4 & 15 Vict. c. 13.

2.(1) So much of the Pharmacy Act, 1868, as makes it an offence for any person to sell or keep open shop for the sale of poisons, unless he is a duly registered pharmaceutical chemist or chemist and druggist and conforms to regulations made under section one of that Act, shall not apply in the case of poisonous substances to be used exclusively in agriculture or horticulture for the destruction of insects, fungi, or bacteria, or as sheep dips or weed killers which are poisonous by reason of their containing arsenic, tobacco, or the alkaloids of tobacco, if the person so selling or keeping open shop is duly licensed for the purpose under this section by a local authority, and conforms to any regulations as to the keeping, transporting, and selling of poisons made under this section, but nothing in this section shall exempt any person so licensed from the requirements of any other provision of the Pharmacy Act, 1868, or of the Arsenic Act, 1851, relating to poisons:

Provided that His Majesty may by Order in Council amend this provision by adding thereto or removing therefrom any poisonous substance, and, upon any such Order being made, this provision shall have effect as if the added poisonous substances were included therein and the removed poisonous substances were excluded therefrom.

(2) Before granting any licence under this section the local authority shall take into consideration whether in the neighbourhood where the applicant for the licence carries on or intends to carry on business the reasonable requirements of the public with respect to the purchase of such poisonous substances as aforesaid are satisfied.

(3) His Majesty may, by Order in Council, make regulations as to—

(a) the granting of licences under this section; and

(b) the duration, renewal, revocation, suspension, extent, and production of such licences; and

(c) the keeping, inspection, and copying of registers of licences; and

(d) the fees to be charged for licences and for inspection and copying of registers; and

(e) the keeping, transporting, and selling of the poisonous substances to which this section applies;

and generally for the purposes of carrying this section into effect.

(4) The local authority for the purposes of this section shall, as respects the area of any municipal borough in England having a population of more than ten thousand according to the last published census for the time being, be the council of that borough, and, as respects the area of any royal, parliamentary, or police burgh in Scotland, be the town council, and, as respects any other place, be the council of the county.

(5) An Order in Council under this section shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament as soon as may be after it is made.