It’s been about a week since the Rally. The buzz from the event has started to fizzle out, and vape advocates are back on Twitter clacking back at any who foolishly oppose without any prior research. What’s great is that it seems we’ve been able to get the attention of the President, since he most recently stated he wanted to meet with members of the vaping industry (along with health officials). Since stating this, we haven’t heard anything yet. This might have to do with the impending impeachment hearings – or maybe he’s pulling back on the pressure and taking things a bit more slowly. Nonetheless, a tremendous win for the vaping industry.
We went from asking “are we done?” to asking “will OUR side of the industry be represented?”. This should be motivating and inspiring to you. But this doesn’t mean the fight is over, no. In fact, the time to push the gas is now. To put it into perspective, Governor Charlie Baker and his corrupt squad of goons have just decided to try and fast track their Vape Ban. This ban is so mind-boggling, it would not only ban all vapor products from the stat, but it would do something so insane, it’s hard to comprehend. I’ll let Reason.com explain….
“The bill also says a police officer who “discovers an untaxed electronic nicotine delivery system in the possession of a person who is not a licensed or commissioner-authorized electronic nicotine delivery system distributor” may seize both the product and the “receptacle” in which it is found, “including, but not limited to, a motor vehicle, boat or airplane in which the electronic nicotine delivery systems are contained or transported.” Such property “shall be turned over to the commissioner [of revenue] and shall be forfeited to the commonwealth.” The commissioner may then sell the seized property and “deposit the proceeds in the General Fund.”
So, if you’re found to have an “untaxed’ vapor device in your vehicle, or any “receptacle”, the police can seize the device AND the receptacle…or in this case, your car. Furthermore, if you think this will go unenforced, you’d be wrong. Massachusetts is embroiled in scandal after scandal dealing with their police force. In fact, the Boston Globe has a section dedicated just to “State Police Turmoil”. They are run like a Mafia. So if you are in the New England area, I suggest you follow CASAA’s call to action and fight for your basic rights.
A bit more news. In NJ, Gov. Murphy is pushing through their “Vape Force” and their new vape regulations. This wouldn’t just ban flavored e-liquid, but ANY flavored e-liquid including Tobacco and Menthol. A huge overreach of government.
But there’s not all bad news, no. In fact, there have been more wins as of late. For starters, we have found an unlikely ally in Iowa. A big one. The Attorney General of Iowa, Tom Miller, has come out to stand up for e-cigarettes. This is the same politician who WON the Master Settlement, the biggest civil settlement in history. This ally only gives the vapor industry more credibility when faced against the Anti’s, who’s allies only include Loser Matt Myers of Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and “Little” Michael Bloomberg.
If you missed the @kccinews interview: Iowa attorney general stands up for #ecigs after winning 1998 big tobacco lawsuit https://t.co/Uaf8UHhgO6
— IA Attorney General (@AGIowa) November 15, 2019
Another unlikely ally has entered the fight, and it’s JOE ROGAN! Erhmm…wait a second. Sorry. JOE GROGAN. Joe Grogan is Trumps Domestic Policy Chief and has recently explained his disdain for the Presidents recent infatuation with the industry. “I hate tobacco issues, I always have,” Grogan said. “And FDA shouldn’t be regulating this stuff in the first place.” is a quote from the news conference.
The next win deals with Oregon, where Governor Kate Brown enacted an “Executive Action” which would temporarily ban flavored nicotine products for 180 days. Well, the Oregon State Court of Appeals issued stays on both THC and Nicotine vapor products. This means the ban will not go into effect while judicial review takes place. The judge stated they were “unable to tie lung injury cases to the type of flavored vape cartridges at issue” and said, “The court is not convinced that there is a risk of harm to the public if the enforcement of the rule is stayed.” So this is great news for OR shop owners. But again, this doesn’t mean the battle has been won.
And the last thing I want to talk about are the great wins in the media. Ever since the rally, the vaping community has been getting some excellent coverage. From NBC, to Rolling Stone, to even Vice. All these news outlets are seemingly understanding the fight we are putting up.
Here are two great articles from Vice reporter Alex Norcia. He was present at the rally taking interviews from vapers which painted the vibe of the rally perfectly. But he also put out a surprisingly good piece on how vaping models AA/NA programs. A sentiment I’ve been talking about for a while. And then we have the Rolling Stone article which also helped push our fight out to more non-vapers. There were about a dozen other mainstream media articles which painted us in a good light…for once! Huge wins.
So all in all, we’ve made more headway this past week than perhaps the entire last 3 months combined. The tenacity and drive of the vaping community, coupled with the smart professionals helping us, and the faulty, ignorant policy decisions our officials have been making, all culminated to a sudden “awakening” in the media and the judges who are desperate to find the corruption in this story. While there still is a lot of ground to cover, such as the PMTA May deadline and the local state bans, we have come much further than I think anyone expected. Keep up the great work.