Wilmington City Council will consider a temporary moratorium on smoke shops.
City Councilmember Chris Johnson introduced the ordinance for its first and second reading at the Jan. 15 meeting.
According to the ordinance, smoke shops are disproportionately opened in low-income and minority neighborhoods, and many sell unregulated, marijuana-adjacent products like Delta-8 and Delta-9.
Johnson said he’s a proponent of marijuana sales in the First State, but he wants to know smoke shops are only selling safe products.
“This is a moving target, kind of a new frontier in terms of how we're approaching this,” Johnson said. “I know there’s similar examination of the liquor stores in the city, but there hasn't been concrete action on that front.”
Wilmington City Council passed a resolution in November encouraging the General Assembly to allow municipalities with at least 50 thousand residents to put stricter regulations on liquor stores.
If Council approves Johnson’s ordinance, the ordinance will stop the issuance of any new business licenses for smoke shops for one year. It also calls for the Department of Land Use and Planning to perform an equity impact assessment to identify areas that are oversaturated with smoke shops and their effect on public health.
Wilmington’s 2025 crime report saw a reduction in crime compared to 2024. Johnson said it’s important to maintain that trend and ask what role smoke shops play in the city.
“They kind of escape that regulation front,” Johnson said. “They're not tobacco stores, they're not convenient stores. So where do they fall? And so really, we're trying to follow and align with our neighbors. I know in Pennsylvania, they've even been conducting grand juries. Philadelphia City Council was taking action on this as well.”
Johnson added some smoke shops are sources of crime and illegal drug activity, and he wants to see changes in the city’s license and inspection process to ensure new businesses are adding to the community.
“If they are to invest in the Wilmington community, how [can they] be safe? Because we have evidence, and you can confirm this with WPD, but in all sectors of the city, [smoke shops] are sources of crime, illegal drug activity.”
The ordinance is headed to the Public Safety Committee for review before Council votes on it, likely in February or March.
