“Many vape shops are just de facto marijuana shops at this point,” Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards told the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.

As Richmond steps up efforts against vape shops, Edwards said his department has identified at least 87 such businesses across the city. “We have more vape shops than probably any other store in our city,” he said. “The majority of them are involved in the distribution of marijuana or other THC products.”

New rules passed in July effectively bar most new vape shops from opening within 1,000 feet of a residential area, school, park, public library, church, child day center or another vape store. The ordinance went into effect July 28, but it doesn’t affect shops already operating or those that had a certificate of occupancy or zoning compliance at that time.

Planning Director Kevin Vonck explained how many existing businesses remain protected: “Once the use has been established, the use can be grandfathered.” The one exception is if a business in a newly prohibited area stops operating as a vape shop for two years; then owners would need to reapply for zoning or occupancy and would be subject to the current limits.

That makes it difficult to shutter shops permanently even when illegal activity has occurred. “When we do coordinated enforcement, we often do find building code violations, health code violations” or delinquent taxes, Vonck said. “But those elements are not in and of themselves enough to stop the use.”

Crime hotspots

Officials say vape shops are a concern not only because many market to youth but because they have become crime hotspots. Richmond has seen a 15% increase in commercial robberies compared with 2024, and Edwards said a third of those incidents have occurred at vape shops. Many robberies are “takedown”-style operations carried out by armed suspects, he said.

Surveillance footage has captured recent robberies at vape stores. Edwards warned the risk of shootings is high: in 88% of robberies at these businesses, robbers have displayed firearms. Cashiers, aware of the threat, are increasingly arming themselves.

Raids on 10 city vape shops recovered 10 guns and about 75 pounds of marijuana or THC products, including candy- and snack-style items with names that echo familiar brands—Reefer’s instead of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Cheetos Puffs, Stoney Patch Kids and more. “Many vape shops are just de facto marijuana shops at this point,” Edwards said.

Because marijuana sales remain illegal in Virginia, those shops that sell it do so in cash, making them attractive targets for robbers. Edwards noted there are likely more stores operating under the radar: “We executed a search warrant recently on a shop that looked like a home from the outside. Now they actually had a business license, but there was no signage, there was nothing. And we got a tip from the community and went in there and it was just marijuana sales.”

Councilor Reva Trammell, representing the 8th District in the Southside, said she sees new vape shops opening frequently. Councilor Sarah Abubaker (4th District) called them “a scourge on the city and the region in general.”

Frustration for police and the Planning Department comes from the ease with which many shops can reopen after enforcement. Locations without a certificate of occupancy or business license have sometimes been shut down, but those with the paperwork often resume operations.

City officials are now exploring other tools in Richmond city code related to drug blight, nuisances and accidental discharges of firearms to deter bad actors. Councilor Stephanie Lynch suggested using taxation to limit vape shops—“let’s tax them 5,000%,” she said—but localities are currently barred from imposing taxes beyond Virginia’s 11 cents per milliliter rate. A bill that would have allowed local tax authority failed in this year’s General Assembly.

“If you all have ideas, we are in the process of formulating our legislative agenda” for the 2026 session, Lynch told Vonck and Edwards.

How the General Assembly will respond is uncertain as the election next Tuesday approaches. “I think some people are waiting on the sidelines until the election next week to see which direction the commonwealth goes as far as legalization,” Edwards said. “I think that’ll determine what needs to happen next year.”

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Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org.