KY police: Smoke shop near a school sold products to minors, causing overdose symptoms
The Prestonsburg Police Department seized a large amount of “misbranded and questionable” vape products at a local tobacco store that was selling those products to minors, the police department announced Thursday.
The investigation began after the police department began receiving reports of Prestonsburg High School students having medical emergencies with overdose-like symptoms. Prestonsburg police said five such incidents happened in one week.
“The common factor in every case was that the minor student had been using electronic vapes and other products labeled as being compliant with state and federal law,” Prestonsburg police said in a Facebook post.
Prestonsburg police determined the products came from Quick Stop Smoke Shop Discount Tobacco and Vaping, which is within 1,000 feet of the high school, according to Prestonsburg police. Investigators conducted controlled buys of the questionable products in the store, using minors with parental consent. The minors bought the products under police surveillance.
Samples of the products were sent to labs for further testing, which revealed that the products were mislabeled, according to Prestonsburg police. In some cases the products were described as “rogue,” containing levels of more than 90% active impairing ingredients.
Prestonsburg police executed a search warrant at the store and confiscated a large amount of questionable products, Prestonsburg police said. It’s unclear if anyone has been charged in connection to the case. The department said it served the search warrant after consulting with federal partners at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“In short, the tobacco store was selling products of questionable origin to high school and junior high students that couldn’t possibly know what they were purchasing because the products were completely mislabeled, in violation of federal law, and when those products were used they caused substantial medical emergencies,” Prestonsburg police said in a Facebook post.
Vape use in school by Kentucky students has been an increasing concern, as multiple school districts including Fayette County have sued Juul and reached a settlement with the e-cigarette company.
This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 7:33 AM.
