{"id":213919,"date":"2025-09-09T22:15:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T22:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213919\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T22:15:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T22:15:13","slug":"fort-worth-shops-adjust-as-thc-vape-ban-takes-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/213919\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth shops adjust as THC vape ban takes effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nicholas Arneson, owner of Dallas Vape Delivery & Lounge<\/a> on Rosedale Street, opened his business just three weeks before a ban on THC vape products took force.<\/p>\n

He built his business on vape deliveries and leaned heavily on the product. Most of his customers were interested in THC vape products, he said.<\/p>\n

Now, nine large boxes filled with the product sit in the back of Arneson\u2019s store after a new law banning<\/a> the sale of THC vape pens went into effect Sept. 1. Although some prepared for the loss in sales, many smoke shops are now exploring new avenues of revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arneson estimated his now unsellable boxes of the product have a value between $5,000 and $10,000 and is weighing his options of what to do with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping that I\u2019ll be able to just make a quick exchange, but who knows,\u201d Arneson said.<\/p>\n

\"\"A wall of empty shelves that once displayed THC-containing vapes sits empty at Big D\u2019s Smoke Shop on Sept. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth. A ban on the product took effect Sept. 1, 2025. (John Forbes | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

In its first week, Senate Bill 2024 left smoke shops throughout Fort Worth with pockets of empty shelves and display cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SB 2024 was the only bill restricting THC signed into law. A broader THC ban failed when lawmakers met for their regular session and during an overtime round called by Gov. Greg Abbott.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick championed bills entirely banning consumable hemp products within the state.<\/p>\n

Abbott vetoed such a bill<\/a> in June but made the issue a high priority in the two special legislative sessions held since July.<\/p>\n

Sanjay Shrestha, owner of Big D\u2019s Smoke Shop<\/a> on 8th Avenue, watched as the legislators wrestled with the issue and prepared for SB 2024 to take effect.<\/p>\n

Two months ago, Shrestha stopped ordering excess vapes and began to inform customers the product would leave shelves. In the last stretch, he sold everything he could.<\/p>\n

Buy-one-get-one-free sales helped rid the shop of nearly its entire stock, Shrestha said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually lost the money, but we at least covered our buying cost a little bit,\u201d Shrestha said. \u201cOur intention was just to cover the buying cost, because it\u2019s going out anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

THC vapes comprised about 20% of his business\u2019s profit. Shrestha said he now plans to focus more on the products he can sell: pre-rolled joints with cannabis flower, nicotine vapes and tobacco products.<\/p>\n

Arneson plans to transform his Rosedale shop into a lounge that provides a space for everyone \u2014 even those who do not smoke \u2014 with comic books, video games, drinks and rentable spaces.<\/p>\n

However, the possibility of a broader ban on THC products still causes anxiety.<\/p>\n

Arneson said his business would remain in operation should a widespread ban become law. He\u2019s worried the absence of consumable THC would come at a personal cost to some of his customers who rely on the product for their well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get a lot of military (personnel) coming in and they get a lot of CBD and edibles to help out with their situation,\u201d Arneson said. \u201cIt\u2019s big for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Forbes is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at john.forbes@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n

Republish This Story<\/p>\n

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Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nicholas Arneson, owner of Dallas Vape Delivery & Lounge on Rosedale Street, opened his business just three weeks…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":213920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[16954,5229,7371,7372,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-213919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-2025-legislative-session","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fortworth","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-tx","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115176651330314051","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}