Smoke Shops to Uphold Same Standards as Dispensaries – City Councilor

Albuquerque City Councilor Renée Grout is proposing a 1,320-foot buffer between smoke shops and other spacing rules modeled on those for cannabis dispensaries, aiming to set the standards before more shops open across the city, KOB 4 reports. Grout said her concern is smoke shops bunching together in one area rather than dispensaries themselves. "They need to be away from cannabis, and smoke shops need to be at least 1,320 feet from another smoke shop," she told KOB 4.

Under the proposal, smoke shops would also have to be at least 350 feet from a school or day care. Nicotine products and paraphernalia could not be displayed within 5 feet of a window or door, and shops could not have a drive-through or be located in main street corridors. Grout said Central and San Pedro are included in the proposed ordinance.

Jose Vialpando, whose Chronic Kings dispensary on Lomas once operated partly as a smoke shop, told KOB 4 the rules would cut down on competition near his business. Many people are opening smoke shops because they’re profitable, he said, but the shops end up hurting one another by clustering so close together.

The proposal was set to go before the Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee, after which it could reach the City Council agenda.

Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit KOB 4’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.