To the annals of legendary Boston protests - think tea and stamps - we can now add blunt wraps.
The makers of wraps, which are tobacco-based rolling papers, are suing the city over the Boston Public Health Commission's decision in December to ban their product from store shelves across the city.
Producers of blunt wraps contend that city regulators are unconstitutionally picking on them.
The blunt-wrap prohibition was part of a broader regulation strengthening Boston's tobacco control ordinances, giving the city some of the nation's toughest antismoking provisions. A key rule eliminates cigarette sales in pharmacies and in stores on college campuses, but allows other retailers to continue selling tobacco products, except for blunt wraps.
With little fanfare, three major blunt wrap manufacturers - as well as their trade organization, the RYO (as in, roll your own) Cigar Association - sued the city in Suffolk Superior Court last month, hoping to stop the city's enforcement of the blunt ban, which starts Monday. A judge denied a request for an emergency halt, but allowed the case to proceed for a full hearing.
"If they treated us like every other tobacco product, we wouldn't be filing this suit," said James Brett, the Boston lawyer representing the blunt wrap makers, who estimated that $1.5 million worth of blunt wraps are sold annually in Boston.
"But they singled us out," Brett said. "You can go to a liquor store or a convenience store and still get tobacco, but not blunt wraps."
The health commission's executive director, Barbara Ferrer, said in an interview yesterday that blunt wraps present a particular threat to the well-being of the young because they are sold in tempting fruity flavors and "used almost exclusively for illicit purposes," namely, smoking marijuana, she said.
In their lawsuit, the companies describe their product as "cigar wraps intended to hold tobacco" and say the wraps are "wholly or partially composed of tobacco." The website of one company, Blunt Wrap USA, advertises varieties with apple martini, champagne, and "grape-a-licious" flavoring.
"There's a detrimental impact on the health and well-being of young people and the community with the sale of blunt wraps, which is why we eliminated them," Ferrer said.
Pharmacies and college campus stores have until Monday to remove all other tobacco products. Representatives of the nation's two biggest drugstore chains, CVS and Walgreens, said that their Boston stores will begin replacing tobacco products with others over the weekend.
During the next few weeks, city inspectors will visit the roughly 75 pharmacies covered by the regulation to make sure they're following the new rules, Ferrer said. If they're not, she said, they will be given a day to banish remaining tobacco products
"If, when the inspector returns, they still have not in fact stopped selling tobacco products, they will be fined," Ferrer said. Fines start at $200 per violation, escalating to $1,000.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Boston Globe
Author: Stephen Smith
Contact: Boston Globe
Copyright: 2009 NY Times Co.
Website: Blunt Lawsuit Pits Rolling Paper Makers V. City
The makers of wraps, which are tobacco-based rolling papers, are suing the city over the Boston Public Health Commission's decision in December to ban their product from store shelves across the city.
Producers of blunt wraps contend that city regulators are unconstitutionally picking on them.
The blunt-wrap prohibition was part of a broader regulation strengthening Boston's tobacco control ordinances, giving the city some of the nation's toughest antismoking provisions. A key rule eliminates cigarette sales in pharmacies and in stores on college campuses, but allows other retailers to continue selling tobacco products, except for blunt wraps.
With little fanfare, three major blunt wrap manufacturers - as well as their trade organization, the RYO (as in, roll your own) Cigar Association - sued the city in Suffolk Superior Court last month, hoping to stop the city's enforcement of the blunt ban, which starts Monday. A judge denied a request for an emergency halt, but allowed the case to proceed for a full hearing.
"If they treated us like every other tobacco product, we wouldn't be filing this suit," said James Brett, the Boston lawyer representing the blunt wrap makers, who estimated that $1.5 million worth of blunt wraps are sold annually in Boston.
"But they singled us out," Brett said. "You can go to a liquor store or a convenience store and still get tobacco, but not blunt wraps."
The health commission's executive director, Barbara Ferrer, said in an interview yesterday that blunt wraps present a particular threat to the well-being of the young because they are sold in tempting fruity flavors and "used almost exclusively for illicit purposes," namely, smoking marijuana, she said.
In their lawsuit, the companies describe their product as "cigar wraps intended to hold tobacco" and say the wraps are "wholly or partially composed of tobacco." The website of one company, Blunt Wrap USA, advertises varieties with apple martini, champagne, and "grape-a-licious" flavoring.
"There's a detrimental impact on the health and well-being of young people and the community with the sale of blunt wraps, which is why we eliminated them," Ferrer said.
Pharmacies and college campus stores have until Monday to remove all other tobacco products. Representatives of the nation's two biggest drugstore chains, CVS and Walgreens, said that their Boston stores will begin replacing tobacco products with others over the weekend.
During the next few weeks, city inspectors will visit the roughly 75 pharmacies covered by the regulation to make sure they're following the new rules, Ferrer said. If they're not, she said, they will be given a day to banish remaining tobacco products
"If, when the inspector returns, they still have not in fact stopped selling tobacco products, they will be fined," Ferrer said. Fines start at $200 per violation, escalating to $1,000.
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Boston Globe
Author: Stephen Smith
Contact: Boston Globe
Copyright: 2009 NY Times Co.
Website: Blunt Lawsuit Pits Rolling Paper Makers V. City
