BALTIMORE — From illegally selling marijuana to gearing products towards kids, Baltimore neighbors say they're sick of seeing smoke shops multiply near their homes.
WATCH: Baltimore officials looking to crack down on smoke shops
City officials are preparing to crack down on the issue.
Smoke shops have been a thorn in the sides of some Baltimore neighbors.
“The flavors are Fruit Loops and candy and Starbursts; it’s crazy. We need to stop this. As a small business owner, I don’t want one next to my house or next to your house; I don’t want your kids going into them," one woman said.
Another resident sharing the same sentiments.
“It’s evolving, and it’s getting scary and to see people younger and younger outside doing it.”
City and state officials say smoke shops have been illegally carrying marijuana without being licensed and selling products to minors.
On Tuesday, Baltimore Police seized two pounds of marijuana packaged for distribution from a smoke shop on East Monument Street.
City Councilman Antonio Glover said he gets many calls from residents.
“Councilman, my son or my daughter has been laced with a substance that we don’t even know, and they’re in Johns Hopkins Hospital, and it’s coming out of one particular smoke shop," Glover explained what parents say to him.
On Wednesday, officials and neighbors had an open discussion about the issue during Baltimore City State Attorney Ivan Bates' Solutions town hall.
Executive Director of the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission Jeff Kelly told the attendees that since last summer, they've seized just under $3 million worth of product.
“We go into a store, and we can see the labeling is not right, and we can see that they’re not a legitimate dispensary; that part’s easy, and now we can see the advertising is against the law and geared towards kids. So now instead of taking one item off the shelf, we take all of the stuff off the shelf," Kelly said.
Now he’s turning to Bates for the prosecution step of the process.
Bates told us that the solution starts with collaboration.
“Of course we’re going to work closely with the Baltimore City Police Department—the work they’re doing and the sheriff's office is doing similar work, making arrests. And we have the state of Maryland with their commission making those types of arrests as well," he said.
Bates also heard suggestions from residents.
“I think once you start to hit these repeat offenders with multiple infractions, almost a three-strike rule where that third strike is potentially shutting that business down," one man said.
On Thursday, Baltimore City Council will hold a hearing on the issue.
