What's behind the sudden rise in Pittsburgh-area vape shops? Critics say it's time to rein them in

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Smoke and vape shops are springing up in business districts in the Pittsburgh area.

Municipalities have no power to limit their growth and complain that they're cheapening their shopping districts and posing a danger to young people.

The past few years have seen an explosion of smoke and vape shops popping up in empty storefronts, selling all sorts of untested and unregulated products: kratom, delta 8 and THCa .

"There's no regulation," Democratic state Rep. Emily Kinkead said. "There's really no oversight. And so they are operating in a very, very possibly dangerous gray area because there's no information about what they're selling and what's in it."

Across the state, the number of licenses to sell these non-tobacco-related products has more than tripled over the past five years. In Allegheny County, there are now more than 1,200 licenses. And municipalities cannot limit the number of shops within their borders.

As a result, they're growing on the South Side, Oakland and Squirrel Hill and even suburban townships like Hampton are not immune. There are now five along Route 8 and another on the way. It's an easy business to start, as there are few regulations, and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue will issue a license to operate for a mere $25 a year.

"They're legal businesses and they're allowed to do what they do with that $25 license, but I don't know anything else about the inspection or what they're selling," said Mardi Isler of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition.

Community advocates say they cheapen the shopping districts and what they're selling has become a flashpoint of controversy . Kratom and CBD have both detractors and supporters, but some shops now offer a product called THCa, which is cannabis that won't get you high in its raw form but will if it is heated, smoked or vaped.

Stores like Keystone Vapors even advertise themselves as "THCa dispensaries," but they are not to be confused with medical marijuana dispensaries, which are heavily controlled, regulated and licensed by the state.

"The amount of money required to set up a medical marijuana dispensary is substantial," Kinkead said. "This is $25 a year."

But right now there are few laws governing these operations. And so far, the efforts of law enforcement to crack down on the smoke shops have fallen short. Recently, the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office raided and shut down a smoke shop in Market Square and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala vowed to take the building.

"If I can take the building, I'm going to take the building as part of an organized criminal enterprise," Zappala said.

But while Zappala charged the owners with selling real marijuana, the owners contend it is legal THCa. The building and the business reopened within days and the case is headed to court.