John Buettner-Janusch, a prominent anthropologist who was convicted of making illicit drugs in his campus laboratory and who then tried to kill the trial judge with poisoned candy, died on Thursday at a medical center for Federal prisoners in Springfield, Mo. He was 67 years old.

He died of pneumonia, said William B. Wachtel, his lawyer. He added that Dr. Buettner-Janusch was in failing health and, disheartened by a recent ruling that he would not be freed until after the year 2000, had stopped eating and been force-fed.

Before his legal problems, Dr. Buettner-Janusch had a distinguished career as an educator and researcher. Described by colleagues as brilliant, he ranked among the nation's top 10 physical anthropologists. He specialized in genetics, biochemistry and the evolution of simians and humans.

He served as chairman of New York University's anthropology department from 1973 to 1979. He wrote over 100 articles in scientific journals and a widely used text, "Origins of Man" (Wiley, 1966). He was the scientific chairman of the Caribbean Primate Research Center and a member of the National Science Foundation's anthropology panel and the board of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Jailed in World War II