Pennsylvania Lawmaker Targets Smoke Shops Statewide
In today’s Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell welcome Pennsylvania State Rep. Amen Brown to discuss Operation Breezy, his crackdown on illicit smoke shops. In segment two, Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, returns for his weekly Insiders Edge segment to break down the latest rescheduling litigation.
Brown, a West Philadelphia Democrat, launched Operation Breezy with Philadelphia police and the state Attorney General’s office. It started with a photo. Leaving a January meeting, Brown snapped the license plate of a delivery truck outside a smoke shop across the street from his office. That tip led investigators to warehouses in Bucks, Luzerne and Allegheny counties, where they seized $18.7 million in cash and $40 million in product. Brown says shops that weren’t even on his list are now closing because their supply has dried up.
Brown explains that small marijuana seizures rarely led to charges. So the team followed out-of-state cigarettes instead, bought for about $4 a pack in North Carolina and resold in Philadelphia for $11. The tax evasion angle kept cases with the state, and informants confirmed product values before raids. According to Brown, the operation has closed 13 shops in about six months, with 30 more in his district flagged.
Pennsylvania has no hemp regulations and no adult-use program, and Philadelphia has cited at least 42 stores for reopening after closure orders. Brown has introduced a bill holding landlords accountable for bad-faith tenants. He also plans to raise the state’s $25 tobacco license fee to at least $2,500 and restrict late-night hours for small mixed-use storefronts.
Bronstein then turns to the briefing schedule agreed to by the Justice Department and the groups suing to block rescheduling at the D.C. Circuit. Opening briefs are due November 24, the government responds January 13, and final briefs land February 19, 2027. His key takeaway is that opponents failed to stop the process, though he warns that litigation is never fully predictable.
He also explains why he believes the government’s process is defensible and how a shift in congressional control could make federal legalization more likely. Finally, he weighs in on the DEA’s October 13 deadline to respond to the GAO report.
Catch the full conversation for Bronstein’s read on what comes next.
