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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

BP, Shell Urged to Crack Down on Drug Sales

(CN) - Gas stations and convenience stores must stop selling synthetic drugs, a new letter from 43 state attorneys general urges.

Among the signatures on the Feb. 10 letter are the president and president-elect of the National Association of Attorneys General: Mississippi's Jim Hood and South Dakota's Marty Jackley, respectively.

BP, Shell, Phillips 66, Chevron, Valero, Sunoco, Citgo, Exxon Mobil and Marathon each received copies of the letter, which calls on them to ban their retail outlets from selling drugs fashioned, among other names, as bath salts, K2, Spice, Posh and Blaze.

"Given the significant danger synthetic drugs present to users, especially our young people, we are extremely troubled that these drugs have been readily available in well-known retail locations," the letter states.

Jackley emphasized in a statement that "these synthetic substances are extremely addictive and create both public safety and health risks."

"We are simply asking the business community to join law enforcement efforts to eliminate synthetic drugs from retail locations," Jackley said.

The attorneys want the oil companies to revoke the franchises of any outlets that sell the drugs, and to report them to law-enforcement officials.

Calling the health consequences of drugs "devastating and lethal," the attorneys noted that synthetic marijuana-related emergency room visits for kids under the age of 17 increased from 11,000 in 2010 to 28,000 in 2011.

"Young people should not die or be seriously injured from using products bought at gas stations or convenience stores," the attorneys wrote. "While we acknowledge that the sale of synthetic drugs at retail locations is only one aspect of an ongoing problem, we do know that it has greatly contributed to the growth of the problem.

Last month, Jackley also warned college campuses and students about another synthetic drug called 25i or NBOme. He said it could cause LSD-type reactions such as hallucinations or violent behavior.

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