Baltimore Declares War on Illegal Smoke Shops, Seizing Drugs and Threatening Padlocks

A sweeping enforcement campaign targets storefronts accused of selling unlicensed cannabis, illegal vapes, and tobacco to minors — raising questions about public health, neighborhood safety, and the uneven landscape of Maryland's legal marijuana market.

BALTIMORE — On a recent June afternoon, undercover sheriff's deputies walked into a smoke shop on the 4700 block of Gwynn Oak Avenue and purchased what investigators suspected was cannabis. It was an unremarkable transaction — except that it ended with a search warrant, an arrest, and the seizure of nine pounds of suspected marijuana and nearly 18,000 tobacco products from a single storefront.

That operation was just the latest flash point in what Baltimore officials have declared a full-scale crackdown on illegal smoke shops proliferating across the city's neighborhoods — storefronts that authorities say are openly flouting Maryland law by selling unlicensed cannabis, flavored vapes, and tobacco products to minors, with some products potentially laced with fentanyl.

By Thursday, city and state officials announced the results of their widening campaign: more than 73 pounds of suspected illegal cannabis, nearly 18,000 untaxed tobacco products, and four arrests — the product of multiple enforcement actions carried out in coordination with the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office, the Baltimore Police Department, the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission, and the Office of the State's Attorney.

"We're seeing smoke shops that are weed shops marketing to children, selling tobacco to children, selling unlicensed tobacco to children, and harming the community — and it's got to stop," Baltimore City Sheriff Sam Cogen said at a press conference Thursday alongside Senate President Bill Ferguson and State's Attorney Ivan Bates.

A City on Alert

The crackdown has been building for months, fueled by a rising tide of community complaints and a City Council that has grown increasingly alarmed about the speed at which smoke shops have multiplied in Baltimore's commercial corridors.

Council President Zeke Cohen, who has called the situation a "public health emergency," and Councilman Antonio Glover introduced legislation in March that would grant Baltimore City police the authority to padlock shops that repeatedly violate the law — treating them, in effect, as public nuisances subject to closure. The council also began weighing additional restrictions, including a proposal to ban new smoke shops from opening within 500 feet of schools, recreation centers, or parks, and within 1,500 feet of an existing smoke shop.

"Our children should not be exposed to these toxic chemicals," Cohen said at the time. "We're going into shops and seeing they're selling all kinds of unlicensed, unregistered cannabis products. They're selling flavored vapes, which is illegal."

In May, the City Council advanced legislation modeled on so-called "padlock laws" used in other jurisdictions to shutter businesses deemed persistent nuisances. The measure is part of a broader three-part legislative package that includes a resolution directing a committee to examine the concentration of smoke shops in specific neighborhoods and their effects on youth health and local safety.

Undercover, and Underage

One of the more striking elements of the enforcement effort has been the use of underage cadets — young people sent into stores to attempt to purchase tobacco or cannabis products. The tactic, long used in tobacco compliance checks, signals the seriousness with which officials are treating the issue of sales to minors.

"We're going to be sending underage cadets into your stores to try to buy tobacco and cannabis," Sheriff Cogen said Thursday. "And we're going to be sending undercover deputy sheriffs into your stores to try to buy cannabis. And you can see that we're getting you already with pounds and pounds."

The warning was pointed: enforcement would not stop with Thursday's press conference. "This is what we're going to be doing all summer long," Cogen said, "so be afraid, and don't do it."

In a previous enforcement operation involving multiple retail stores — carried out by the Baltimore Police Department's Southeast District Action Team with help from the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission — investigators seized 64 pounds of suspected cannabis products, more than 200 vapes, over 1,100 individually packaged marijuana units, and roughly $63,500 in cash.

"A Coalition Behind Us"

What distinguishes the current moment is the breadth of the coalition assembled against the shops. The Thursday press conference included not only law enforcement officials but also legislative leaders, suggesting an alignment across branches and levels of government that has not always been easy to achieve in Baltimore.

"Look at the coalition behind us," Cogen said. "You've got people making the law both at the state and local level. And you have the State's Attorney and I, as law enforcement, the ones supposed to enforce these laws."

State's Attorney Ivan Bates, who hosted a community forum in March on smoke shops and youth safety — drawing representatives from the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission — framed the issue in terms of neighborhood dignity as much as law enforcement.

"These establishments often operate without proper oversight, sell products illegally and to minors, and contribute to quality-of-life concerns in neighborhoods across our city," Bates said in a statement. "We will continue to work together to hold violators accountable, protect consumers and residents, and ensure that businesses operating in Baltimore do so legally and responsibly."

Mayor Brandon Scott echoed the sentiment. "We will not tolerate individuals and businesses breaking the law and causing harm in our communities," he said.

The Broader Context

Baltimore's crackdown reflects a national pattern. As states have legalized recreational cannabis over the past decade, a secondary market of unlicensed dispensaries and smoke shops has emerged in cities across the country, often operating openly despite existing laws and undermining the licensed businesses that went through lengthy and expensive regulatory processes to comply with the law.

New York City launched a similar effort in 2024, when Mayor Eric Adams initiated "Operation Padlock to Protect," a multi-agency campaign that resulted in dozens of shops being sealed within its first week and hundreds of violations issued. Legal cannabis retailers in New York had complained for years that unlicensed competitors were undercutting their prices and operating without the burden of compliance costs.

Baltimore's legal cannabis industry faces similar pressures. Licensed dispensaries, required to pay application fees, taxes, and adhere to strict packaging and testing requirements, have increasingly complained that illegal smoke shops — selling untested products at lower prices with no regulatory overhead — create an uneven playing field.

What Comes Next

Officials say enforcement will intensify through the summer. The padlock legislation, if enacted, would give the city a powerful new tool: the ability to physically close storefronts after documented repeated violations, without waiting for lengthy court proceedings.

The geographic restrictions proposed for new shop locations — the 500-foot buffer from schools and recreation centers, the 1,500-foot buffer from other smoke shops — would, if passed, significantly constrain where new businesses could open, particularly in dense neighborhoods where such facilities are common.

For now, city and state officials say the message to shop owners is unambiguous.

"Our office has been inundated with complaints from residents about illegal smoke shops and businesses that openly violate Maryland law," Bates said. "That ends now."

Arrests made in connection with the Gwynn Oak Avenue operation include Marvin Morales, 25, charged with possession of cannabis with intent to distribute. A second individual was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant from 2020.