Laura Glesby Photos
Some of the cannabis products seized as part of a May 7 police raid of Vape R Us.
Vape R Us has lost permission to sell vapes — after state regulators suspended the store’s e‑cigarette registration following three failed inspections that turned up hundreds of illegal cannabis products.
The store’s manager told the Independent on Friday that he intends to try to get that state license restored. In the meantime, he said, Vape R Us will remain open for business, selling cigars, cigarettes, papers, and backpacks — but not e‑cigarettes, vaping products, or cannabis.
State Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) spokesperson Kaitlyn Krasserlt announced the e‑cigarette and vaping product license suspension in a Wednesday press release.
The state agency has issued a summary suspension of the 837 Whalley Ave. smoke shop’s Electronic Cigarette Dealer (ECD) registration, which authorizes holders to sell electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products.
That license does not allow its holder to sell cannabis or cannabis-related products. The state has a separate set of licensing regulations for cannabis dispensaries, and Vape R Us is not one of the New Haven businesses that is legally allowed to sell pot.
The press release notes that three separate failed compliance inspections, conducted in collaboration with city police, found Vape R Us to be in possession of “hundreds of packaged cannabis products, including cannabis flower, THC pre-rolls, vapes, and edibles. Many of the products were packaged to appeal to children by depicting, among other things, candy, ice cream, cereal, and children’s vitamins. Many of the packages were similar to commercially available non-cannabis products such as Peeps, M&Ms, and SweetTarts, or had representations of cartoon characters commonly associated with children such as Scooby Doo and SpongeBob..”
According to the four-page summary suspension order, written by Deputy Commissioner Maureen Magnan, the failed inspections took place on May 7, June 30, and July 8. That report states that DCP found that Vape R Us “poses an imminent threat to public health and safety, and particularly to minors, given the presence of child-targeted packaging and exterior and interior marketing. Most notably, the store’s name, signage, and mascot deliberately mimic the well-known branding of “Toys R Us,” a nationally recognized children’s toy retailer, further amplifying the risk of child appeal and public deception.”
State DCP Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli framed Vape R Us repeatedly getting caught with illegal cannabis products as “not ignorance, but in fact, a deliberate violation of the law with no concern for the consequences or the health and safety of our communities.”
The state first issued Vape R Us its ECD registration on March 26. That registration was set to expire on Feb. 28, 2026. It is now suspended, effective immediately, and the department will hold an administrative hearing to determine whether the registration should be permanently revoked.
In a separate email sent out on Thursday, Westville Alder Adam Marchand heralded the Vape R Us license suspension as “a positive step forward, yes, but not the end of the story.”
He added that “we in local government are exploring additional actions to address the harms produced by this and other vape businesses.” The city’s new licensing ordinance for smoke shops is set to take effect this fall.
In a Friday morning phone interview, Vape R Us store manager Asad Alsaidi acknowledged the ECD registration suspension. “We’re not cancelled, we’re just suspended,” he stressed. He said he intends to try to get the license restored.
“I was selling cannabis. I’m not going to lie,” he told the Independent. But that’s because cannabis is legal in so many places across the country, he said, and he didn’t know it was illegal to sell in his new shop in Connecticut. “Cannabis is not drugs anymore. You can have it, you can smoke it,” he said.
“We just came from New York. We didn’t know the law” in Connecticut, he said. “Now we know.”
“They don’t want to give licenses to nobody,” he said about how hard it is to get a license to legally sell cannabis in Connecticut.
Nevertheless, Alsaidi said, his business will follow the law. He won’t be selling e‑cigarettes or vaping products while his store’s registration is suspended. (He added that vaping products are not a big part of Vape R Us’ business, anyway.)
He also said that state regulators came by on Wednesday to let him know about the license suspension; he said they found no cannabis during that visit.
“For this moment,” Alsaidi said, “I don’t have no cannabis.”
Reporter David Sepulveda's interview with Vape R Us Manager Asad Alsaidi on May 7.
Reporter David Sepulveda's interview with Lt. Pedro Colon on July 8.