(WBFF) — Concerns about smoke shops and what residents say is dangerous, illegal activity inside them brought Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates to Digital Harbor High School on Wednesday evening for a public forum focused on a citywide crackdown.
Bates said Baltimore City Councilman Antonio Glover alerted him to smoke shops and safety issues affecting Glover’s East Baltimore district, including reports of young people having violent reactions to marijuana suspected of being laced with Fentanyl.
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At the forum, Bates described hearing from families about children buying products at those smoke shops and becoming sick.
“Families, talking about how very young people were going and buying things from the smoke shops and how they were having negative reactions, whether it was marijuana, whether it was gummies laced with drugs in them,” Bates said.
Bates said the meeting was part of what he called a “solutions pact,” with his office and partners hearing concerns from communities and offering resolutions. He said the issue goes beyond tobacco sales and alleged illegal activity is happening at some of the businesses, which he said are popping up across the city.
He pointed to a recent arrest he said Baltimore police made.
“My understanding, if I’m not mistaken, I think BPD made an arrest yesterday of an individual, I think two and a half pounds of marijuana, was allegedly in a vest and walking around for a shotgun and allegedly selling marijuana. That’s the type of activity we cannot happen and we cannot have,” Bates said.
Residents also raised concerns about how quickly smoke shops appear to open.
“As a business owner, I have to jump through hoops to open up a store. These places are opening up overnight. They’re popping up like weeds in every community. And there is no way that they have gone through the permit process that it takes to come to be legal in Baltimore City,” said Beth Hawks, a Fells Point resident.
The forum followed several recent incidents involving smoke shops. Last month, a double shooting at Euphoria Smoke Shop on Eastern Avenue reignited concerns about that business and others like it. The month before that shooting, federal investigators raided the smoke shop, though few details were released, including what, if anything, was recovered. In November last year, a multi-agency collaboration led to several arrests and drug seizures after two smoke shops were raided in the city.
Bates said the crackdown is part of broader efforts to improve public safety.
“You know, we’ve worked really hard as a city to lower our crime numbers in reference to violent crime or murders, and now we need to take it the next step to make sure our communities feel safe, and that we make sure that our children are safe. And that’s why we’re focused on smoke shops,” Bates said.
The meeting also included discussion about juveniles involved in crime, whether as victims or perpetrators. One resident described a frightening incident at her home.
“I had five kids throw a brick at me through my living room window when my son was four months old. When BPD showed up and they were checking my son for glass – I got asked if I got the kids’ names and dates of birth,” said Jen Covino, a Federal Hill resident.
Betsy Fox Tolentino, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, was on the panel and addressed concerns about juvenile crime.
“Yeah, I think we’re making some really positive steps forward. We’re seeing reductions in some key areas. Now, is the work done? Absolutely not. Not until all of the community feels safe and we see a reduction in victimization. But we do see some key indicators moving us forward, and we are working hard every day to continue that progress,” Tolentino said.
Bates said steps are already underway to provide “solutions,” including a change in the law in October that he said creates a “meaningful consequence” for smoke shops engaging in illegal activity – which could include closure.
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