Task force had outlined strategy to address proliferation of businesses selling unregulated, potentially harmful substances, including to youth
Henrico County is clamping down on vape and tobacco shops and similar businesses in response to public-safety concerns about the widespread availability of substances that are unregulated and potentially dangerous.
Citing a need to protect youth and adult consumers, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved an ordinance amendment that establishes new regulations for stores that sell recreational substances, including tobacco, kratom, cannabis, vapes and edibles or other smoking products and accessories.
With the changes, new stores offering products defined as “recreational substances” would be allowed only in the B-3 Business and M-1 Industrial zoning districts and would also be required to receive a provisional use permit. That would require public hearings and approval from the Board of Supervisors. In addition, such stores would not be allowed within 1,000 feet of a school or 2,000 feet of a religious institution, day care center, public park or existing store selling recreational substances.
Before the vote, supervisors expressed concern about the proliferation of shops countywide as well as blatant marketing and illegal sales to minors. Varina District Supervisor Tyrone E. Nelson noted that a shop in his district had used a name that evoked the retail chain Toys R Us.
“I feel like we really are just getting started,” he said. “We don’t want people selling illegal substances to our young people.”
Store operators “don’t care about the impacts on the individuals, the community, households, our schools,” said Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Roscoe D. Cooper III, of the Fairfield District. “The intentional effort to market these products to those who are disenfranchised, those who are young, those who are vulnerable …, it is our job to protect them, and we would do it at all costs.”
The ordinance amendments were recommended by a county task force that was established in late summer to address community concerns about the spread of vape shops in Henrico, including near schools.
In recent months, officials have identified more than 80 such shops operating in the county and chronicled a host of concerns, including the availability of products containing substances that are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as marketing and illegal sales to youth.
The task force has worked closely with the Department of Forensic Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. In its analysis of products sold locally from vape shops, including ones in Henrico, the department has found extensive concerns, including levels of THC – the psychoactive compound in cannabis – that exceed legal limits as well as other synthetic compounds.
“They are sold as legal and safe products. The consumer believes they are regulated, and they’re not,” said Michelle R. Peace, Ph.D., of VCU’s Department of Forensic Science. “They need to know they have no idea what drug and how much drug is in an unregulated product, or if it’s free from contaminants, like hair, dirt, yeast, mold and bacteria.”
As they do across the region, state and nation, vape shops operate throughout Henrico, in all major commercial corridors and all five magisterial districts. In recent weeks, the county has inspected 85 shops and cited more than 300 code violations for issues relating to signage, electrical service, sleeping accommodations and more. In addition, the Police Division has filed charges related to illegal sales of products to minors at 30 businesses.
Henrico’s enforcement efforts will continue and will soon take advantage of an additional tool from the state. In January, the Office of the Attorney General will publish a directory of all vaping products permitted to be sold in the commonwealth. Anyone found to be selling a product not in the directory will be subject to a fine of $1,000 per day for each prohibited product being offered.
The county’s task force also has launched a website to provide information to the public on the dangers and challenges associated with vape shops. The website is designed to receive information from the public on businesses that may warrant inspection for compliance with county codes and other legal requirements.
Under Henrico’s previous ordinance, businesses were subject to the county’s vape shop regulations if at least 15% of their display space was used for vaping and related products. With the amendments, the ordinance includes a broader definition of stores that are subject to regulation. For example, the ordinance requires businesses to demonstrate that less than 5% of their display space is used for recreational substances and that they do not offer products from a menu, list or other nondisplay area, such as backroom. The ordinance also places caps on the business’s monthly transactions and gross sales of recreational substances.