FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Over a year in the making, a Fresno ordinance that aims to limit the number of smoke shops city-wide, could soon be up for a vote.
The ordinance, introduced in Oct. 2023 by Councilmember Miguel Arias, Council President Annalisa Perea, and Councilmember Nelson Esparza, was previously discussed but not moved forward with by Fresno City Council. Now, it has been altered into a final version which would make changes to city municipal code.
Arias says the whole purpose is to crack down on illegal activity.
“What we’re seeing is a lot of these folks have significant history and engage in illegal activity. Our hope is that they’re going to completely go out of business or move out of town,” said Arias.
When asked for examples of illegal activity seen at smoke shops, the councilmember said those include black market cannabis sales including sales to minors, gambling operations, gun possession, and even human trafficking.
“We’ve spent the last 18 months developing this policy. In the last 12 months we’ve been doing inspections of the smoke shops,” Arias told me. “85% of the smoke shops inspected have been caught selling illegal products and violating state and local laws.”