Pittsburgh councilmembers plan on introducing new legislation that will change the zoning code and limit where vape shops can open. 

"It's just ruining Downtown, and, you know, it's ruining parts of the South Side, that's what I'm hearing, I'm hearing that we have it on the North Side of Pittsburgh," said Pittsburgh Councilman Bobby Wilson.

Smoke and vape shops are springing up in a business district near you, selling cigarettes and vape products as well as what some call legal weed: THCa and Delta-8.

"No one knows what's in a lot of products that they're selling," said Pennsylvania state Rep. Emily Kinkead. "They're coming from places like China. People think that it is something that's safe because if it's on the shelf, why would it not have been tested? And it hasn't been. There's no regulations on those."

In the past five years, the number of places selling these non-tobacco products in Allegheny County has more than tripled, with no signs of abating. State licenses to sell these products have jumped from 1,035 in 2023 to the current 1,701 today. 

Wilson said they're trying to hold the line on vape shops. 

"We're going to say where it can be in the city of Pittsburgh, so 1,500 feet from a school, a church, a park. There are places where it shouldn't be and there are places that it can be," Wilson said. 

Pittsburgh City Councilmembers Bobby Wilson and Daniel LaValle are introducing legislation this week to change the zoning code and limit the number of smoke and vape shops in city neighborhoods and business districts, especially Downtown, where there are already close to 30. Some have become hangouts for young men and have become the sites of some violent incidents.

"Downtown has become an epicenter for people to come here to buy these products that are unregulated and Downtown, you know, could be used for much better things," Wilson said. 

But while the legislation might restrict new shops, it won't really impact the existing ones, and some believe stronger measures are needed. While Philadelphia requires a $300 a year license to operate a smoke shop, Pittsburgh charges no fee. And the state requires only a $25 license to sell these non-tobacco products.

"We need to make sure that substances that are potentially addictive, potentially mind-altering, are not readily available for less than what it costs to fill up your gas tank," Kinkead said. 

Kinkead is one of the sponsors of a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in the state, which would require an expensive license to sell marijuana, including products like THCa and Delta-8, restricting their sale to anyone under 21.

"So that would in effect put these guys out of business, no?" KDKA-TV's Andy Sheehan asked. 

"We need to do something because, you know, kids are able to purchase this and they have no idea what it is that they're really getting into," she replied. 

No smoke shop owner KDKA-TV spoke with would appear on camera, but each one said they do not sell these products to underage kids, but certainly some do, and there's no law against it. And while these business people say they're catering to demand, neighboring shop owners and residents say they're bringing down their business districts.