Poison - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition poison

Definition :

Poison (poison, Fr.; fr. potio, Lat., a drink--applied originally to a medicated drink or draught].

The administration of poison or other destructive thing, if done with intent to commit murder, is a felony, punishable with penal servitude for life, or any term not exceeding three years, or with imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years [(English) Offences against the Person Act, 1861, s. 11], and so is the attempt to administer with like intent, whether bodily injury be effected or not (s. 14).

On a trial for murder of A, by poisoning, evidence of a subsequent poisoning of other persons is admissible against the prisoner, Reg. v. Geering, (1849) 18 LJMC 215; Rex v. Armstrong, (1922) 38 TLR 631; as also of antecedent poisoning, Reg. v. Garner, (1863) 3 F&F 681.

Unlawful and malicious administering of poison so as to endanger life or to inflict grievous bodily harm is a felony, punishable by penal servitude up to ten years, or imprisonment; and such adminis-tration with intent to injure, aggrieve, or annoy is a misdemeanour, punishable by penal servitude up to five years: see ss. 23, 24 of the same Act. As to poisoning to procure miscarriage by a woman, see ABORTION.

Restrictions on Sale.--By the Arsenic Act, 1851 (now repealed), certain restrictions--as that name and address, etc., of the purchaser are to be registered by the seller--were placed upon the sale of arsenic, and by the (English) Pharmacy Act, 1868, persons selling or compounding poisons, or assuming the title of chemist or druggist, must be qualified as by that Act is required. See Chemists and Druggists. For the purposes of that Act a list of Articles deemed poisons was set out--a list which may be added to by the Pharmaceutical Society with the approval of the Privy Council, Brown v. Leggett, (1906) 1 KB 330. The list as contained in Schedule A. of that Act was repealed, and a list in substitution was given in the Schedule to the Poisons and (English) Pharmacy Act, 1908. This in turn was repealed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 25), which setup a Poisons Board to prepare and submit a list of substances to be treated as poisons, for the approval of the Secretary of State. The list is to be in two parts, Part I. consisting of those poisons which are to be sold only by an authorized seller of poisons, and Part II. consisting of those poisons which may be sold by an authorized seller of poisons, or by a person whose name is entered on the 'local authority's list' (s. 17).

Section 18 deals with prohibition regarding the sale of poisons, and s. 19 makes exemptions with respect to medicines.

The (English) Dangerous Drugs Acts, 1920, 1923 and 1932, and the regulations made thereunder, impose stringent restrictions upon the importation, expor-tation and sale of certain poisons and dangerous drugs. See these Acts and regulations, and Drugs, Dangerous.

Poisoned Food or Grain.--Penalties are imposed upon persons placing poisoned fluid or edible matter upon land, and upon persons selling or exposing for sale poisoned grain or seed, unless for bona fide use in agriculture; see (English) Protection of Animals Act, 1911, s. 8; and see s. 1, sub-s. 1 (d) of the same Act as to administering poisonous drugs to animals. See Chitty's Statutes, tit. 'Poison.'

No comprehensive definition can be given to the word poison. Under this term would fall anything calculated to destroy life. Substances harmless in themselves might become poison by the time or manner of their administration. Nothing is a poison unless regard be had to its administration. A substance may be a deadly poison or a valuable medicine according to how and how much is taken. If the resultant effect of administering into the system produces a violent, morbid or fatal changes or which destroys living tissues, the substance can be safely called poison, Goodwill Paint and Chemical Industry v. Union of India, AIR 1991 SC 2150 (2152): 1992 Supp (1) SCC 16: (1992) 2 BLJR 803. (Poisons Act, 1919 s. 4)