The city of Richmond wants to ban new tobacco, nicotine and hemp stores from the vast majority of the city. Leaders have developed a plan that would prohibit new stores from opening near homes, schools and day cares. Add up all those spaces, and about 80% of the city would be off limits for new establishments.

Richmond’s planning department is working to present an amendment to Richmond’s zoning ordinances to City Council this spring.

Disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices are displayed for sale at Vapes N Smoke in 2023 in Pinecrest, Fla. The city of Richmond wants to ban new tobacco, nicotine and hemp stores from the vast majority of the city.

The new rules would serve an additional purpose. Should the state legalize recreational sales of cannabis, Richmond would already have a mechanism to limit those stores, too.

Though the sale of recreational marijuana is illegal in Virginia, some tobacco stores are selling it anyway, industry experts said. The only legal method of buying cannabis in the state is through licensed providers of medical marijuana.

People are also reading…

Jason Amatucci, president of the Virginia Hemp Coalition, said the idea of banning cannabis stores, if they are ever legalized, is misguided. He said people who want cannabis will seek it out on the internet, on a street corner or at a friend’s house. It’s safer, he said, to legalize the sale of cannabis and regulate it.

“The crackdown on the market is not the answer,” Amatucci added.

The map on the left shows all the places in the city that are within 1,000 feet of a residential lot, school or daycare. The city plans to ban new tobacco, nicotine and vape shops in those areas, which are colored red. The map on the right marks every place in the city within 1,000 feet of a residential lot, school, daycare or public park.

Kevin Vonck, Richmond’s director of planning, said limiting the proliferation of tobacco, nicotine and hemp stores would improve the health, safety and welfare of city residents. Among adults who are daily smokers, almost all of them started by age 18, according to a study published in Cambridge University Press. Plus a high number of tobacco stores near a school is associated with higher rates of smoking among youth, according to another study .

It would not be the first industry restricted in the city, which also limits the placement of nightclubs and liquor distilleries with retail sales.

City leaders are not sure how many tobacco, nicotine and vape stores exist within Richmond’s limits, given there is no licensing or permitting currently required for them. The city would consider a store as tobacco, nicotine or hemp if 10% or more of its merchandise, floor space or signage is devoted to one or more of those products.

If the plan is approved, a new store could open only if it is 1,000 feet or more from a residential lot, day care or school. The city is also considering adding parks and places of worship to the list. That means in about 80% of the city, new stores would not be allowed. Only business and manufacturing districts, such as downtown and the Commerce Road corridor in South Richmond, are left.

And even if a company tried to open a store in an approved district, it would still need a conditional use permit from the city. Existing stores would not be affected.

Tobacco stores have proliferated in Richmond, and some residents have become concerned. Mark Olinger, of the Church Hill Central Civic Association, told the city’s Planning Commission that tobacco, nicotine and hemp stores are the single largest topic of conversation in his neighborhood. Residents want these stores distanced from schools, parks and neighborhood interiors.

Other localities already have made similar restrictions. In 2023, Chesterfield County required that new tobacco, nicotine and hemp stores be at least 2,000 feet from a school, and they can open only in commercial zoning districts. Last year, Henrico County passed an ordinance restricting vape shops to 1,000 feet from a school or 2,000 feet from a religious institution, day care, park or existing vape shop. Vaping involves inhaling liquid, smokeless nicotine, and at the time, the county estimated it had about 60 stores that sold vape products.

If the state legalizes cannabis sales, Richmond would have a mechanism for limiting new stores selling marijuana products. Currently, adults in Virginia can legally purchase cannabis through a medicinal marijuana provider. The licensed provider in central Virginia is called Cannabist.

“It’s important for us to have that framework in place,” Vonck said. The planning director added that the city might consider exemptions for providers of medical cannabis.

In December, Richmond Police raided Gas City Smoke Shop on Fairmount Avenue, seized 22 pounds of marijuana and arrested one person.

While concerns about health and safety are a factor for limiting tobacco stores, crime is another. Some tobacco stores sell cannabis illegally, hemp and vape experts said. In December, Richmond police raided a store in the Fairmount neighborhood of east Richmond, not far from Martin Luther King Middle School. Police seized 22 pounds of marijuana and arrested a person for possession with the intent to distribute.

It’s unclear how widespread the problem is. A deputy chief for Richmond police declined to be interviewed.

Noelle Pryor, founder of RVA Vapes, said she agrees that tobacco, nicotine and hemp stores should be kept away from kids. But bad actors are making the whole industry look bad.

Noelle Pryor, who founded RVA Vapes across the city line in Henrico, said she agrees that such stores should be kept away from kids. But some stores don’t play by the rules, selling to underage customers, offering illegal hemp products or cannabis edibles, she said.

“It looks bad on the whole industry,” Pryor said. “We’re definitely trying to keep it out of the hands of the youth ... We ID everyone that comes in.”

Amatucci said the idea of banning cannabis stores is misdirected. Buyers can already order illegal cannabis online and have it delivered to their homes . An 18-year-old can purchase medical marijuana and share it with friends. If legal stores are pushed out, he said, people will go to street corners and dealers.

“The demand for cannabis products is not going away,” Amatucci said. “Prohibition is not the answer.”

In each of the past two sessions of the General Assembly, Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed Democratic-led bills to legalize the commercial sale of marijuana. In the absence of a legal market, a black market has continued to grow. New Frontier Data, which studies cannabis consumption, said in 2023 that illegal cannabis sellers in the state made $2.4 billion.

Instead of pushing out stores, Amatucci recommends the state legalize cannabis and regulate it by keeping it away from children, making sure products are free of toxins or mold and limiting what can be sold. He said stores that break the law should be shut down. He added that cannabis could help drive tourism and economic development the way wine and breweries do.

“There’s no black market wine,” Amatucci said.