Chap. 403.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 54 of an act entitled an act
to define ardent spirits and to prohibit the manufacture, use, sale, offering
for sale, transportation, keeping for sale, and giving away of ardent spirits,
or drugs, as herein defined, except as provided herein; declaring certain
ardent spirits contraband, and prescribing procedure for search therefor
and forfeiture thereof; to prohibit advertisement of such ardent spirits; to
prescribe the jurisdiction for trial and appeals of cases arising under this
act; to prescribe the force and effect of certain evidence and prosecution for
violation of this act; to create the office of commissioner of prohibition and
to define his duties and powers and compensation; defining intoxication and
who is a person of intemperate habits within the meaning of this act;
prescribing a penalty for intoxication; prescribing certain rules of evidence
in certain prosecutions under this act; defining soft drinks, providing how
they may be sold, regulating the sale of toilet, antiseptic preparations, patent
and proprietary medicines, and flavoring extracts; exempting certain coun-
ties and cities from certain provisions of this act and authorizing additional
restrictions and limitations beyond the provisions of this act as to sale,
manufacture or delivery of ardent spirits in certain counties and cities; to
provide for the enforcement of this act and to prescribe penalties for the
violation of this act; to appropriate out of the treasury of the State neces-
sary moneys for the enforcement of this act; and to repeal chapter 146
of acts of assembly, 1916, approved March 10, 1916, and all other acts or
parts of acts in conflict with this act, approved March 19, 1918. [S B 320]

Approved March 20, 1920.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section
fifty-four of an act entitled an act to define ardent spirits and to pro-
hibit the manufacture, use, sale, offering for sale, transportation, keep-
ing for sale, and giving away of ardent spirits, or drugs, as herein
defined, except as provided herein; declaring certain ardent spirits
contraband, and prescribing procedure for search therefor and for-
feiture thereof; to prohibit advertisement of such ardent spirits; to
prescribe the jurisdiction for trial and appeals of cases arising under
this act; to prescribe the force and effect of certain evidence and
prosecutions for violation of this act; to create the office of com-
missioner of prohibition and to define his duties and powers and com-
pensation; defining intoxication and who is a person of intemperate
habits within the meaning of this act; prescribing a penalty for in-
toxication ; prescribing certain rules of evidence in certain prosecutions
under this act; defining soft drinks, providing how they may be sold,
regulating the sale of toilet, antiseptic preparations, patent and pro-
prietary medicines and flavoring extracts; exempting certain counties
and cities from certain provisions of this act and authorizing additional
restrictions and limitations beyond the provisions of this act as to sale,
manufacture or delivery of ardent spirits in certain counties and cities;
to provide for the enforcement of this act and to prescribe penalties
for the violation of this act; to appropriate out of the treasury of the
State necessary moneys for the enforcement of this act; and to repeal
chapter one hundred and forty-six of acts of assembly, nineteen hun-
dred and sixteen, approved March tenth, nineteen hundred and sixteen,
and all other acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act, approved
March nineteenth, nineteen hundred and eighteen, be amended and
re-enacted as to read as follows:
Sec. 54. Prescriptions and affidavits to be in duplicate; filing;
examination.—All prescriptions and affidavits required by this act
shall be made in duplicate and one original filed with the clerk of the
circuit court of the county or the corporation court of the city, which
has criminal jurisdiction, on or before the fifth day of every month
following the filling of such prescriptions and the making of such
affidavits, by the druggists, or by the common carrier handling the
same, and the failure of any physician to make out said prescription
in dyplicate and the failure of the persons making the affidavit to do
so in duplicate shall be deemed a misdemeanor. The clerk of the court
with whom said prescriptions and said affidavits shall be filed shall
paste them in an alphabetically arranged book, and permit, their exami-
nation without fee. Any clerk who shall fail or refuse to comply with
the duties imposed upon him by this section shall be fined not less
than five dollars and not more than twenty-five dollars. This section
is subject to this proviso however; that whenever the prescriptions
have been issued and filed in accordance with the provisions of the
national prohibition act and the regulations issued in pursuance thereof
the prescriptions and affidavits mentioned in this section shall not be
required.

2. An emergency is hereby declared to exist and this act shall
be in force from its passage.