The Oregon Court of Appeals has granted a temporary stay to Gov. Kate Brown’s 180-day ban on flavored nicotine products, thanks to an emergency petition successfully filed this week by a Canby law firm.
However, the temporary ban against the sale of flavored vaping products containing recreational cannabis remains in force.
Attorney J. Ryan Adams, of Tyler Smith & Associates, filed the petition Wednesday on behalf of his clients, No Moke Daddy LLC, which does business as the Division Vapor vape shop in Portland, and its owner, Paul Bates.
It was one of two petitions for injunctions against Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Health Authority seeking judicial review of the ban. The Oregon Court of Appeals granted the stay on Thursday afternoon.
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In the petition, Adams and his firm argued that No Moke Daddy, along with “approximately 4,000 similarly situated businesses” would be forced to close their doors if the temporary ban was allowed to take effect.
“Gov. Brown overstepped her executive authority when she directed the Oregon Health Authority to enact an outright ban on all flavored vaping products,” Adams said in an emailed statement. “Without the Court’s intervention, thousands of Oregonians would be jobless right now. These are Oregonians that, like all of us, have kids to feed and bills to pay.”
He’s not just blowing smoke (…sorry). Independently owned and operated vape shops are one of the greatest small business success stories of our time, and the single fastest-growing retail segment of the past decade.
Adams’ argument, though, wasn’t simply that the ban should be stayed for economic reasons, or for the financial impact it would have on business owners and employees who may be affected by it. The real question is whether the governor had the legal authority to direct state agencies to enforce this ban.
“We believe she did not, and we are grateful that the Court of Appeals intervened,” Adams explained. “Oregonians should understand that this isn’t just about vaping, this is about what the governor has the power to do without permission from citizens. All Oregonians should be paying attention. We are citizens, not subjects.”
Brown’s executive order imposing the temporary ban had followed a widespread outbreak of acute lung injuries that have been linked to the use of both marijuana and nicotine vape products. As of last week, more than 1,300 cases had been reported across the country with 26 deaths, two of them here in Oregon.
At Gov. Brown’s insistence, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission approved temporary rules that were scheduled to take effect Tuesday, Oct. 15, removing all flavored vape products off the shelves of approximately 4,000 retailers across the state.
Photo by E-Cigarette Reviewed.
