Court of Claims has just granted a preliminary injunction to vape shop owners

UPPER PENINSULA — A Michigan Court of Claims has just granted a preliminary injunction to vape shop owners from the Upper Peninsula and mid–Michigan areas seeking to block the state’s ban on selling flavored nicotine based vaping products.

Marc Slis, owner of 906 Vapor in Houghton, first challenged the state’s emergency rules that banned the sale of flavored nicotine vape juice. The challenge came from the owner due to the ban possibly putting him out of business and would possibly force him into bankruptcy.

Judge Cynthia Stephens issued the ruling nearly two weeks after the state’s rules took effect seeking to curb youth vaping.

This has allowed owners across the state to breathe easy knowing the ban has been temporarily lifted for the time being.

“I am just so happy and I realized in some sense I have become the face of this, but it takes a whole village or a whole community,” said Marc Slis, Owner of 906 Vapor. “I am not the only person who has been putting in massive amounts of work and effort into this. I cannot thank my legal team enough, the judge who found it within herself and the within the law to grant us the injunction. Also the shop owners, liquid manufactures and everybody who supported me, I just want people to know that I have not done this alone. Some how I just became the face of this, but it has been an amazing team effort.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the ban in September citing concerns about the number of youth using the flavored products and an increase in vaping–related illnesses.

Most of these illnesses have now been linked to illegal black market vape products consisting of nicotine and THC.

Now that the ban has been stopped vape shop owners are planning to go down to Lansing and will try to work with legislatures on proper regulations.

“From this day forward we are trying to get our legislature to know that (A) adults like flavors and (B) we don’t mind being regulated as long as it is fair, because prohibition just doesn’t work.”

However, this ban on select nicotine products never curved a larger threat to public health known as combustible tobacco products such as cigarettes; which has killed many over the years.