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Injunction on flavored vape ban good news for local shop owners

Posted at 9:49 PM, Oct 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-15 21:49:46-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A judge overruled Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's ban on the sale of flavored vape products Friday, and that's good news for Ron Pease, owner of Mister E Liquid in Grand Rapids.

“With the preliminary injunction being granted, we are happy to sell you that product," Pease said.

Starting Tuesday, flavored e-liquids are back available for sale.

“If you came in yesterday, that would be a different story,” Pease said.

Mr. E's is able to have products ready to go, because they make each nicotine products custom to order at their location on Plymouth. All their flavors don't have nicotine in them. That is later added.

It means good news for Pease because their e-liquid was always 0% nicotine.

“We didn’t have to destroy hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of product, because we make it on demand,” Pease said.

He says however, he feels for smaller businesses who don't make the products themselves.

“It’s really too late,” Pease said.

He said most places already got rid of their products, because of serious consequences like jail time, listed when Whitmer originally banned the sale of the products.

“A lot of companies spent a lot of money destroying or moving products out of state,” Pease said.

“Some shops don’t have the ability to whether the storm."

Pease says his business does things right. They don't sell to minors, and check everyone's ID at the door to make sure of that. He's hopeful with this injunction, true legislative changes can happen.

“I guess really I’m mostly excited because it gives us the opportunity to work with legislatures,” Pease said.