September 04, 2026
Tony Giberson/USA Today via Reuters Connect
Certain kraton derivatives can produce opioid-like effects. The herbal extract is sold as powders, gummies, vapes and chocolate bars.
A smoke shop in Buckingham Township is barred from selling kratom to minors as a historic lawsuit against the business proceeds.
Zaza Vape & Cigar, Inc. can't sell products containing the herbal supplement to anyone under 21 while the case is active, a Bucks County judge ruled Thursday. The order extends a preliminary emergency injunction against the retail store, located at 2539 Durham Rd., that District Attorney Joe Khan obtained earlier this week. His litigation is believed to be the first in the state which uses consumer protection law to sue a smoke shop for predatory underage sales.
In his civil suit, Khan alleges Zaza Vape & Cigar has sold kratom products, which can produce opioid-like effects, to teenagers. While kratom is currently unregulated, the Drug Enforcement Administration has temporarily branded certain derivatives — MGM-15, MGM-16 and mitragynine pseudoindoxyl — as Schedule I controlled substances. Despite this ruling, the documents say, the smoke shop continued to sell these products in violation of federal law.
The store also has a history of illegally selling tobacco products to minors. Zaza Vape & Cigar is the only one of Bucks County's 580 licensed tobacco retailers to fail every youth compliance check since its opening. The average fail rate for these businesses in the state, by contrast, is 15.2%. Khan's suit details five other instances when clerks sold tobacco products to undercover teenagers without checking their IDs or asking for their ages.
The county prosecutor also describes a pattern of selling hemp products with THCA concentrations above the legal limit of 0.3% by weight. According to court documents, lab results determined that marijuana prerolls sold at Zaza Vape & Cigar contained 1% of the intoxicating cannabinoid, making them Schedule I controlled substances.
Prior to filing his lawsuit, Khan joined Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe in requesting a statewide emergency ban on the sale of kratom products. Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen has not publicly responded to their letters.
The judge's order further bars Zaza Vape & Cigar from selling a tobacco product to anyone under the age of 30 without verifying their age with a digital scanner. The shop must post prominent signage informing customers that no one under the age of 21 may enter.
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