Part V - Help Wicked Chronic

We now have our feet under us and are getting into a groove operating the store.  It is now time to turn toward the first unattainable goal…acquire a Tobacco Permit from the Town of Framingham, MA.

I probably have a better chance of winning Powerball than getting a Tobacco Permit from the Town of Framingham. And that is a very sad statement. My own community is unwilling to help one of their own in our effort to run a quality small business in this town. Shame on them.

I’ll get to why this is going to be next to impossible in a moment, first a little background as to why I even need a Tobacco Permit.  Along with the 80 year-long ban on cannabis, there has also been a ban on “drug paraphernalia”. Bongs, pipes, rolling papers, vaporizers are all considered drug paraphernalia and illegal to sell/buy in its originally manufactured intention.

However, this is one of those “gray areas” in the laws of most states that allow the sale of these items as a tobacco accessory. Every person with just a smidgen of common sense knows that 99% of these items are never used with tobacco, but it makes our government officials feel like they have some sense of control over things. So we have been giving them this one for decades.

If you want to be a head shop and sell “tobacco accessories” then you need a Tobacco Certificate from the State and a Tobacco Permit from the local town you are setup to do business in.  We have our State certificate, but we are not able to get a permit from the Town of Framingham because they have stopped issuing new permits (as of July 2015).

Why has this town (and all other towns in the Metrowest communities) stopped issuing new Tobacco Permits you ask? Because these towns are run by a very small select group of individuals who act out of fear first.

They publicly stated these new regulations were to “hold off until the federal government decides what to do about e-cigarettes and the vaping industry.” The Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the same folks who have been holding cannabis hostage for over 50 years and counting, have been contemplating over the past several years whether or not they will regulate the e-cigarette industry or not, and if so, how will it be regulated.

As usual the FDA dragged their feet on these so called “deeming regulations” for as long as they possibly could, but in early May 2016 the FDA announced they will indeed regulate the industry under their “tobacco” rules and they spelled out the details.

So we should be all set to start issuing new Tobacco Permits now that we know the federal government’s response to the e-cigarette and vaping industry right? If the Framingham Board of Health does not want to be called liars, then they should start issuing new permits.

I ain’t hold’n my breath.

For some reason, I can’t quit fathom the sense of it: The local Board of Health (BOH) in all of the Metrowest towns is the governing board that issues Tobacco Permits to businesses.  I would love it if someone could use common sense to explain to me why a BOH has authority over a type of business license?

I get that a BOH should determine where a smoker can or cannot smoke in public places. And I understand they should be able to set age limits, like 21 or older, to be able to purchase tobacco products.  But why should this group have the authority to prevent commerce of legal products from happening. To me, this way over steps their authority. The granting of a business license, like tobacco or liquor, should reside with the town Selectmen or even just the Town Clerk. But that’s just me, what do I know.

In 2015 all of the Metrowest communities updated their Tobacco Permit regulations and added a paragraph similar to this one shown below. This is from the Town of Framingham.

Regulation of the Framingham Board of Health
Restricting the Sale of Tobacco Products

SECTION E, Paragraph 11: Maximum Number of Tobacco Product Sales Permits.
(a) At any given time, there shall be no more than sixty (60) Tobacco and Product Sales Permits issued in Framingham.
(b) As of July 1st, 2015, any permit not renewed either because a retailer no longer sells tobacco products, as defined herein, or because a retailer closes the retail business, shall be returned to the Framingham Board of Health and shall be permanently retired by the Board of Health and the total allowable number of Tobacco Product Sales Permits under paragraph 11(a) shall be reduced by the number of the retired permits.

These regulations implemented in 2015 effectively create a new prohibition of tobacco products and tobacco accessories. Eventually this will create monopolies for the few businesses left holding a tobacco permit.

The group responsible for these totalitarian regulations is the MetroWest Tobacco Control Coalition.  Who you wonder? This Coalition is a nine-town group consisting of Ashland, Framingham, Hudson, Medway, Millis, Marlborough, Natick, Southborough, and Sudbury and is helmed by the Natick Health Department. Last year they picked 27-year-old Fall River resident Sarah LeRoux as its new control agent.

That is a lot of power for one person to have.

And since these new regulations went into effect, along with new age limits of 21 or older to purchase (which I do agree with), the local authorities have been touting how proud they are at all the recent busts in the area, cracking down on the business owners who are not complying.

So I wonder if there are any particular groups of stores/owners that are not getting harassed by the tobacco police. Perhaps these owners know someone, who knows someone who perhaps is helping to get them their monopoly sooner rather than later. Nah, that’s just a preposterous conspiracy theory. Or is it?

What happens when businesses with current Tobacco Permits start getting cited for violations? The local BOH now has the right to revoke or not renew that permit based on these violations. That number of available permits quickly begins to drop from 60 to who-knows-where, but it won’t be good.

This prohibition will only create a new black market for criminals and a monopoly for the last business standing with a permit.

As a side note to the FDA’s recent “deeming regulations”, they screwed us again. What was an entrepreneur and small business person’s industry that provided a legitimately healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes and a scientifically backed legitimate smoking cessation device, is now out of the hands of those folks and now in control of the millionaires and large tobacco firms.

Once again the spirit of America and the ingenuity of the small business folks gets stepped on by their own government. Shame.

So, how can you help Wicked Chronic? If you read this far then take it one step further. Open up your email and send one or all of the folks below a little note that kindly asks them to begin issuing new tobacco permits so small businesses like locally owned and operated Wicked Chronic can give the community what they want, choices.

Ways to help:

1. Email the Framingham Board of Selectmen at selectmen@framinghamma.gov
2. Email the Framingham Health Department at Health@Framinghamma.gov
3. Email MA State Representative Chris Walsh at chris.walsh@mahouse.gov
4. Email MA State Senator Karen Spilka at Karen.E.Spilka@state.ma.us