BROCKTON TAKES UNIQUE TACTIC IN WAR ON DRUGS

BROCKTON -- Store manager Shahid Qadeer says the new ban on the sale of
blunt cigar wrappers in the city will hurt his business.

"It does not make sense," Qadeer, manager of the 28 Corner Convenience
Store on Montello Street, said Thursday. "If somebody comes to buy
these, they will buy other stuff."

The city has banned the sale of all blunt cigar wrappers in Brockton
stores in an attempt to curb illegal drug use, city officials said.

The wrappers, which are sold behind the counter at convenience stores
across the region, are intended for use with cigar tobacco. But they
are often used with controlled substances, such as marijuana, said
Police Chief William Conlon.

"In Brockton, specifically, we'd like to get rid of them. It just
encourages drug use," Conlon said.

Locally, the individually packed wrappers are sold for about 99 cents
in a variety of flavors, including cherry vanilla, blueberry and strawberry.

"It seems to be aimed toward the younger market," Conlon
said.

Some city councilors received complaints from their constituents about
the wrappers being readily available in city stores, and that led to
increased attention on the issue, Conlon said.

Conlon said the wrappers have been defined under state law as being
drug paraphernalia.

"Those blunt cigar wrappers have been found by the courts to be
exactly that, that they're intended to be mixed with controlled
substances," Conlon said. "So, therefore, we want to take them out of
the stores where they've been found in the city."

Hanover is another local community that has banned the sale of blunt
cigar wrappers, said Moises Rodrigues, city director of community services.

"We're trying to rid our community of drugs, and what we can do to put
a dent in that, we're going to do it," Rodrigues said.

Conlon said police will go to all stores in the city to "see who's
selling" the wrappers.

"If we find them, we'll direct the store owners to immediately remove
them and to cease selling them," Conlon said.

Police will return to make subsequent checks to make sure the wrappers
are not being sold, he said.

Violators will be subject to punishment, which carries fines or jail
time or both, Conlon said.

At R&K Food Mart Inc. on Legion Parkway Thursday, a variety of
flavored wrappers were displayed behind the store's cash register.

Store manager Josh Rahman said "a lot of people" buy the
wrappers.

But if a ban of the item stops illegal drug use in the city, "this is
OK," said his wife, Mosammat Hena, store co-owner.

"If it stops these bad things, we are happy, if it's good for my
neighborhood," Hena said.