Though the 1906 Act led many patent medicines to abandon narcotics rather than label them, it was less sucessful in corralling exaggerated claims.

In the mid 1910s, the Division of Drugs added two new components. The Pharmacognosy Laboratory was created in 1914. In addition to investigating crude drug products, this Laboratory studied improvements in crude drug processing to reduce waste. In 1916 the Division established an office to investigate false and fraudulent labeling of drugs. This effort stemmed directly from the Sherley Amendment and was directed by M.W. Glover, a physician on detail from the U. S. Public Health Service (USPHS).