WAR ON DRUGS Mayor asks stores to halt the sale of rolling papers

He wants to enlist businesses in discouraging drug abuse.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Mayor Wayne J. Alexander is appealing to the management of gasoline stations and grocery and convenience stores to consider discontinuing the sale of items that he said readily can be used as drug abuse paraphernalia.
"I am now seeking the help of the business community to further our gains made against the evildoers -- the drug dealers," the mayor wrote in a recent letter he sent to 18 minimarts, gas stations and convenience and grocery stores in or near the city.
Specifically, the mayor said he was referring to cigarette rolling papers, which can be used to roll marijuana cigarettes or to smoke crack cocaine, and to blunt-type cigars, which can be split down the middle, emptied of tobacco, and filled with marijuana or crack cocaine, and smoked.
The mayor, who took office in January, said in an interview Friday that he wrote the letter after touring the stores a week earlier and finding the rolling papers and blunt-type cigars.
Although he acknowledged that the sale of these products is legal, the mayor asked the merchants to evaluate how these products are displayed in their stores and closely scrutinize young people who may try to buy them.
"If it is not injurious to your store, why not just stop selling these products altogether?" the mayor asked the merchants in his letter.
Loiterers
Those who are inclined to misuse these items tend to loiter near stores that sell them, the mayor wrote, suggesting that discontinuance of these items could improve store security and attract new customers.
"I get phone calls from these store owners complaining that nefarious people -- drug dealers or drug users -- are hanging around in the parking lot," outside their stores, the mayor said.
The mayor also said he has spoken to many people who say they're afraid to patronize convenience stores after sunset because of loiterers.
"I'm waging a war against drug use in New Castle. We are making significant strides in making New Castle an undesirable community for drug dealers to do business," the mayor said. "We have been very aggressive in our law enforcement efforts.
"Our police force cannot battle these guys alone," the mayor said, referring to the drug dealers. "We are seeking the voluntary help of our business community to do its part to make our city safer for children and families," and an excellent place to do business, Alexander added.
The mayor said he plans to follow up with the store owners and managers and to write to the headquarters of the corporate stores on the matter.