Though I'm not surprised by this news, I do wonder if it's actually going to happen. Afterall, this is Ithaca, a bit of a hippie haven
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From the Ithaca Journal:
Dove Boutilier manages Jabberwock on The Commons in Ithaca. The store is one of several that could be affected by a proposed City of Ithaca tobacco ordinance. / SIMON WHEELER / STAFF PHOTO
Downtown Ithaca Alliance targets smoke shops
Group asks city for permitting, cap on numbers of paraphernalia sellers
Written by
David Hill
Concerned about downtown’s image and effects on youths, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance is asking Common Council to restrict shops that sell smoking paraphernalia.
The alliance has sent to the city a resolution asking that a system of permits be set up to regulate shops selling tobacco and paraphernalia. Shops would have to spend $500 for a permit and couldn’t be within 500 feet of a school or one another, though that explicitly would not apply to existing permit-holding shops.
Under the proposed ordinance, tobacco products, herbal cigarettes and smoking paraphernalia could not be displayed so that they are visible from outside the store.
It wouldn’t seek to shut down existing shops but would require annual renewal of permits and set a limit — the number would be determined by Common Council — on the number of such permits that could be issued.
While the ordinance cites tobacco and many stores explicitly label their merchandise as for use only with tobacco, the paraphernalia are of the type also used with marijuana.
Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson said the board voted to send the resolution to Common Council after some of the most extensive discussion the group has ever had on a topic. The state has given localities the authority to regulate tobacco establishments, he noted.
Bruce Hyde, an assistant manager at Jabberwock Emporium on The Commons, said the community should consider whether the stores are a positive or a negative. The effects beyond the shops themselves should be considered, he said. Most of Jabberwock’s glasswork is locally made by artisans who produce pipes to pay the bills, he said.
“It really is an art form. Blowing glass is extremely difficult,” Hyde said. “It’s a bigger economy.”
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...ts-smoke-shops