St. Louis Alderman Tom Oldenburg is hoping to crack down on smoke shops that sell everything from regular old tobacco to a slew of products that are very similar to, but not quite, marijuana. He says that in many cases these shops operate with little to no regulation, and he wants to focus the Board of Aldermen’s attention on changing that, starting as soon as today.
“These things, if not operated correctly, really are just a detriment to the quality of life in neighborhoods,” Oldenburg tells SLM. “It should be an extreme privilege to sell that stuff in the city, and it should be hard to open up, because we’ve seen the track record of what happens here.”
He says he is planning a bill that would include basic regulations on the hours these stores could operate, as well as what sort of signage they could use. His legislation could also potentially allow for a plat and petition process, requiring buy-in from neighbors before a new smoke shop can open. These regulations would give the city a way to force compliance. If a shop violated conditions (for example, by selling illegal THC products), the city could revoke its occupancy permit more easily. “If we could put conditions, then it’s like, ‘Alright, you’re in violation—boom, your occupancy permit is withdrawn.’”…