Prescription for death

Buerki

I've got some new theories to pursue. Dr. Robert Buerki, professor emeritus at The Ohio State University, wrote about the poisonings for his paper, Prescription for Death: The 1925 Ohio State Poisoning Case, which he presented at the annual meeting for The Ohio Academy of Medical History in 2012. Unable to read it in its entirety until now, I was thrilled to discover it was published in the History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals, Vol. 64, Issue 1, on Jan. 1, 2022. 

While most of his 15-page paper was a summary of previously resourced materials, Buerki did have access to some new information.

"On June 3, Governor Donahey forwarded to Ford an unsigned letter that he had received from 'some unknown source.' The letter added a bizarre note of conspiracy to an already tangled web of circumstances:

'If you really want to know the true inwardness of the poisoning at the University, put your best secret service man on the track of the first student who was taken sick. He can tell you much if he will. Why was he taken to St. Francis Hospital instead of the University Hospital? Why was Dr. McCampbell called about the case? The plot was against one man but it hit the wrong man. Who wanted a safe from the dental department "to keep all the strichnine [sic] in?"

'Who has been after Dr. Wingert for years and says he will drive him off campus? The fear of punishment for unintentional murder is keeping mouths closed, but it can be traced.

'The pressure is now on to let the matter drop 'because it will injure the University.' The inside facts can only injure the plotters. You are surrounded by athletic influences. Consult some others not under their control."

Ross

So is this "unknown source" referring to Robert H. Ross of Bellevue, Ohio? Ross became ill on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1925. He was diagnosed with food poisoning at the time and was the first to become ill according to my timeline.

McCarthy

Or is the writer talking about Timothy "Big Tim" McCarthy, a sophomore on the varsity football team who, as far as I know, was the only man rushed to St. Francis Hospital? He was also the last known person to get sick on Feb. 2, 1925.

Hmm.

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Compounded

Educational requirements have changed a lot in the past 100 years. Once you became a master of your trade after years of supervised training and hands-on experience as an apprentice. Now you need years of education before you can get a master.

The other thing to realize is that pharmacies and/or dispensaries are also different now from then. Pharmacists didn't buy vast amounts of prepared prescription drugs, but made many themselves -- like a modern compounding pharmacy. Capsules make it all easier. Believe it or not, you can still buy empty capsules on amazon.com for making your own easy to swallow medicines.

I believe pharmacists in 1925 Ohio did not have to have either a degree or even a certificate. You had to pass the exam for the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy, but many simply studied for years within their family pharmacies as apprentices.

OSU decided to open a dispensary in 1921 so supervised students could get practical experience of creating medicines, and patients would benefit from the reduced costs. Supervision is where it failed. While a pharmacist was frequently there, it was not always the case.

Charley's and David's deaths helped change modern pharmacology. OSU initially offered two programs; an optional two-year course leading to a “Certificate of Pharmaceutical Chemist” or a four-year course leading to a “Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.”

After the poisonings, the dispensary was shut down and the College of Pharmacy ceased to offer its two-year certificate, requiring all students to complete a four-year program. I believe it was the first in the country to do so. This would not be a requirement enforced by all colleges of pharmacy within the United States until 1932.

Dr. Robert Buerki, professor emeritus at OSU, wrote about the poisonings for a paper, Prescription for Death: The 1925 Ohio State Poisoning Case, presented at the annual meeting at The Ohio Academy of Medical History in 2012. In it he wrote:

"Universities have long institutional memories," Buerki wrote. "The dispensary had been closed permanently; nearly three-quarters of a century would elapse before the University would permit -- in 1999 -- the establishment of the University Health Connection, an interprofessional primary care clinic located in the College of Pharmacy."

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