Photo of a vaping device that can be used for nicotine or cannabis from reader Kylee Rayne Reichow
OREGON – Two days after Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s flavored vape ban executive order went into effect on October 15, the Oregon Court of Appeals temporarily stayed part of the order after several vape businesses and a trade group challenged the rule in two separate lawsuits.
According to the Willamette Week newspaper in Portland, the ruling appears to apply only to non-marijuana vaping products, leaving flavored marijuana based vape products still temporarily banned.
Willamette Week noted that the two lawsuits — one brought forward by attorney J. Ryan Adams on Oct. 16 representing No Moke Daddy LLC, a Portland-based company that operates two vape shops, and the other from two vape businesses with Oregon interests and the Vapor Technology Association — were filed on October 16, asking the court to stay the governor’s executive order until a full judicial review could be completed.
The order issued by Gov. Brown, Executive Order 19-09, called for, among other things, a 180 day ban on flavored vaping products, which went into effect on October 15.
“My first priority is to safeguard the health of all Oregonians,” said Brown in a press release issued by the governor’s office. ” keeping potentially unsafe products off of store shelves and out of the hands of Oregon’s children and youth, we prevent exposing more people to potentially dangerous chemical compounds, and help lessen the chance of further tragedy for any other Oregon family.”
In a statement released on Twitter, the Oregon Health Authority confirmed that the rules in the order halting sales of nicotine-based flavored vape products were no longer in effect, but urged Oregon businesses to voluntarily subject themselves to Gov. Brown’s executive order regardless.
“…We encourages businesses, despite the stay, to voluntarily keep flavored #vaping products off the shelves to protect Oregonians. For more information, visit healthoregon.org/vaping,” the agency stated.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
