ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) have sent a letter to the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) in response to a letter that 43 attorneys general sent to nine oil companies asking them to take steps to stop synthetic drugs from being illegally sold at gas stations and convenience stores operating under their brand names.
The AGs sent the letter to top company officials at BP, Chevron, CITGO, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, Shell Oil, Sunoco and Valero. They requested that the companies address this growing problem by:
- Prohibiting franchisees from selling any synthetic drugs.
- Ensuring the prohibition is understood by store franchisees and their employees by communicating directly with each of them.
- Establishing a point of contact in corporate offices for franchisees, should they have any questions about synthetic drugs.
- Revoking the franchisee/franchisor relationship with any gas station or convenience store that sells synthetic drugs.
- Reporting to local law enforcement authorities if any franchisee is selling synthetic drugs.
Click here to view the AG's letter to the oil companies.
The letter from NACS and SIGMA said that their "members are eager to cooperate with law enforcement to ensure compliance with all state and federal laws pertaining to synthetic drugs."
But the groups also said that they wanted to "clarify certain aspects of [their] business operations and relationships" between oil companies and retailers.
"In our industry, use of a brand name does not signify ownership or control of a retail outlet by a brand licensor or sub-licensor," they said. "With very few exceptions, the owners and occupants of retail locations are independent business persons over whom the licensors have no control. In fact, our licensor-licensee relationships have been carefully designed and structured to avoid any confusion about the fact that individual retail outlets, licensed to employ a brand name, are independent businesses. Today, the integrated oil companies own and operate fewer than 3% of retail outlets in the United States."
Click here to view the letter to NAAG from NACS and SIGMA.
The AGs are from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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