SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Surfside Beach is close to temporarily halting any new vape shops from opening inside town limits as official work on a zoning law that could prohibit them forever.
On Monday, the town council unanimously voted to adopt a six-month moratorium on the businesses, although the move won’t take effect until a second reading.
The move comes after a recommendation by the town’s planning commission to stop an expansion on all “cannabis dispensing businesses, smoke shops, tobacco stores or businesses selling tobacco paraphernalia,” according to language in the ordinance.
Barring them for six months will give town leaders a chance to craft more specific language and guidelines, Mayor Robert Krouse said.
In May the Biden administration announced that the Justice Department is moving forward with plans to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III, putting it in the same category as Tylenol.
That could bolster efforts by state lawmakers to create a medical marijuana law — which would affect businesses locally .