Types of Poisons

Abstract

At the outset it might seem simple enough to define what a poison is; however, legally it is not quite as simple as it first appears. In the courts it has oftentimes been difficult to agree on the definition of “poison.” Scientific American once humorously defined a poison as “any substance in relatively small quantities that can cause death or illness in living organisms by chemical action. The qualification ‘by chemical action’ is necessary because it rules out such effects as those produced by a small quantity of lead entering the body at high velocity.”