Cumberland Farms First to Join Torrington, Conn., Anti-drug Campaign

TORRINGTON, Conn. -- At the Cumberland Farms store here, city Mayor Ryan Bingham unveiled a new anti-drug initiative called the Drug Free Business Zone program, asking all local businesses remove the "love rose" novelty item from their shelves.

The novelty product consists of a small plastic rose inside of a 2- or 3-inch clear glass pipe, which can be made into a crack pipe.

Cumberland Farms is the first participant in the Drug Free Business Zone Program, and has removed the love rose and several other items it felt could be used to aid drug use.

"Cumberland Farms takes pride in the communities it serves. Torrington’s youth is the future of this community and Cumberland Farms is proud to support Mayor Bingham’s fight and take the lead in preventing the sale of drug paraphernalia," John J. Babbitts, general manager, division 44, for Cumberland Farms, said in a statement.

As part of the Drug Free Business Zone program, those businesses that voluntarily refrain from selling love roses will provided with a sign from the city reading "Drug Free Business Zone," which can be displayed in-store to notify customers of their choice.

"Too long have we allowed people to profit off of the degradation of our city," Bingham said in a statement. "Today, we ask our businesses to stand with us and stop making the use of drugs cheap and easy. Our first partner in this effort is the Cumberland Farms organization and we certainly thank them for their efforts. However, I want to personally invite any and all businesses located in Torrington to join our fight against drugs and drug paraphernalia."

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