Recreational Substance Retail Stores

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In response to public safety and health concerns, Henrico County has tightened its regulations for businesses that sell recreational substances (e.g., stores that sell tobacco, flavored vapes, pipes, bongs, cannabis/hemp-derived products, etc.).

Our goal is to better educate the public on the dangers of products being sold in some shops and to provide additional resources to address the issue.

Residents can report concerns about specific businesses for potential inspection and enforcement action by the county.

Recreational Substance Retail Store Reporting Form

Why is the county concerned about vape and tobacco shops?

Residents have voiced concerns about the rapid growth of smoke shops that have opened in the area, as well as the increase of recreational substances sold in convenience stores and gas stations. Henrico officials share these concerns and launched a multidepartment task force mid-2025 to assess the reach of these products.

The county spent several months studying the local smoke shop market. More than 80 stores have been inspected, and several have been charged with distributing illegal substances or illegally selling recreational substances to children.

Code inspectors also have found that many of these businesses do not meet building safety codes, with unsafe wiring and blocked exits.

What is the county doing to make Henrico safer?

On Dec. 16, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the existing zoning ordinance to regulate not only vape shops, but stores that sell other recreational substances, such as tobacco, kratom, and cannabis products.

Going forward, any new retail stores that sell these products as their primary business will be allowed only after receiving a provisional use permit, which requires a public hearing and approval from the Board. In addition, new stores will not be allowed within 1,000 feet of a school or 2,000 feet of a religious institution, day care center, public park, or another existing recreational substance retail store.

What are the health and safety risks of these products?

The products that can typically be found in some stores that sell recreational substances are derived from tobacco, kratom, cannabis, and similar substances.

The task force has worked closely with the Department of Forensic Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Lab tests of products from retail shops in Henrico and other localities revealed substances that are not listed on the label. These items are being sold to consumers as legal products but are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The most common incidents of unregulated products sold at businesses in the county have included:

Higher percentages of a substance than what is advertised on the label;
Substances present that are not listed on the label at all;
Contaminates such as hair, E. Coli, mold, yeast, and bacteria.

To further complicate the issue, many of these products claim that they have been lab-tested when they haven’t. Upon investigation, VCU’s Department of Forensics found that several manufacturers could not provide proof that their products were tested, even though they are selling their products as lab tested.

What can residents do?

Exercise caution if purchasing recreational substances
Be cautious even with legal products: Adults are encouraged to exercise extreme caution if they decide to purchase legal recreational substances. With so many reported cases of illegal sales to minors, parents are encouraged to share the dangers these products could pose to anyone who consumes them.

Consumers are encouraged to watch for these practices, which are often “red flags” for illegal activity:

Membership clubs: If a business requires a monthly or annual fee to buy their products, this could indicate that the business is selling unregulated items.

Gifts or product samples: Recreational substances should not be offered as free samples or gifted with the purchase of other merchandise, such as shirts or stickers.

Requirements to sample products before leaving the business: A business cannot require a patron to ingest a recreational substance before leaving its premises. If a store attempts to force a customer to sample free, gifted or purchased products before exiting the store, this is not legal.

Product labels: If the manufacturer information or a listed dosage cannot be found, the product might be unregulated. Additionally, if the actual product does not match the photo or description on the label, the product could be unsafe.

Cannabis products: Virginia is split into five health districts, and each district legally can have five state-licensed marijuana dispensaries. As of November 2025, Virginia had 23 state-licensed dispensaries operating across the commonwealth. These establishments are permitted only to sell medical marijuana to patrons who have been approved for medical use. In the Henrico area, two medical dispensaries — gLeaf and Cannabist — have been licensed by the state.

Synthetic variants: Synthetic substances can be difficult to regulate, and the ingredients of variants change frequently. For synthetic CBD, THC and kratom, that means each new variant can be legal and unregulated.

Natural substance claims: The VCU lab has found instances in which products purported to be “natural” or “whole” were actually neither. For example, chocolate bars with psychedelic mushrooms were found to not contain Psilocybin, and pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes were found to instead contain shreds of paper soaked in synthetic cannabis variants.

Report concerns

Report concerns: If there is an establishment in the county with questionable building safety, illegal activity, or health risks, residents can share their concerns with the task force.

Examples of concerns to report: