In 2025, South Carolina law enforcement sent a clear, urgent message across the state. Coordinated raids on vape and smoke shops in Myrtle Beach, Easley, Pickens, Fairfield County, and Hampton County revealed a systemic problem: unregulated retailers are putting our children and communities at risk.
The operations, often assisted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), targeted shops suspected of selling illegal products, products with THC levels exceeding legal hemp limits, and, most alarmingly, selling to minors. The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office specifically noted that its actions followed numerous complaints from parents and school officials about illegal products reaching our students.
The current retail landscape allows non-compliant “problem retailers” to fester, treating fines or occasional raids as a cost of doing business rather than a deterrent. But there is a straightforward solution to address these community concerns, protect our kids, and bring accountability to the market.
The Dual Solution: Licensing and Child Safety
The wave of 2025 raids highlights two critical regulatory gaps that must be immediately closed by the General Assembly:
1. Mandatory Child-Proof Packaging
One of the primary ways illegal and high-potency THC products evade detection is by being disguised as innocuous treats—often mimicking popular candies or snacks. This is a direct threat to public health, increasing the risk of accidental ingestion by young children who cannot distinguish a hemp product from a regular sweet.
We must mandate the use of strict, uniform child-proof packaging for all hemp-derived consumable products sold in South Carolina. This standard packaging must be opaque, tamper-evident, and utilize a recognized child-resistant mechanism, drastically reducing appeal to minors and preventing accidental poisonings.
2. Restrict Sales to Licensed Retailers
The root cause of “problem retailers” is the lack of a proper licensing structure tied to strict operational standards and accountability. When enforcement is the only tool, law enforcement is playing an endless game of whack-a-mole.
We call for the restriction of all hemp-derived consumable product sales to specific, properly licensed retailers. This could include licensed hemp-specific stores and/or existing, strictly-regulated businesses like licensed alcohol retailers.
The benefit is immediate and profound: Hemp store licensing fixes almost all of the community concerns.
- Accountability: A licensed retailer has a valuable asset—their license—that can be revoked for selling to minors, selling illegal products, or failing to meet packaging requirements. This provides a powerful, proactive deterrent that simple business licenses currently lack.
- Compliance: Licensed shops are far more likely to invest in training and product verification to ensure they are only selling products that comply with state-mandated THC limits.
- Age Gating: By placing these products in highly regulated environments (like licensed alcohol stores or dedicated hemp dispensaries), we ensure that robust age verification systems are in place, making it far more difficult for minors to obtain these substances.
From Enforcement to Regulation
The 2025 raids—from the six shops targeted in Pickens and Easley to the five shops in Myrtle Beach—prove that enforcement alone is unsustainable. We owe it to our parents, our schools, and our children to move from reactive raids to effective, responsible regulation.
It is time for state leaders to pass common-sense legislation requiring mandatory child-proof packaging and ensuring that hemp products are only sold by licensed, accountable retailers. This is the only way to safeguard our communities and ensure that only legal, safe, and properly-handled products are available to adults in South Carolina.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Raids on Vape and Smoke Shops (2025)
Overview 2025
In 2025, South Carolina experienced multiple law enforcement actions and raids on smoke and vape shops across various counties, including Myrtle Beach, Easley, Hampton, Pickens, and Fairfield. These operations generally target shops suspected of selling illegal products (often disguised as legal hemp products or as food/candy), selling to minors, and other illicit activities.
Details of Key Raids in 2025
- City of Pickens: On November 12, 2025, the Pickens Police Department executed search warrants on six vape and smoke shops within the city of Pickens, as part of an ongoing multi-agency narcotics investigation. Similar search warrants were also executed on shops in the nearby city of Easley on the same day.
- Easley (Pickens County): Search warrants were executed at multiple smoke shops in Easley in November 2025 as part of an investigation into suspected illegal narcotics activity. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) assisted local police in these operations.
- Fairfield County: The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and SLED seized significant amounts of illegal THC products from three vape shops in September 2025. The action followed numerous complaints from parents and school officials about minors obtaining illegal products.
- Myrtle Beach (Horry County): In August 2025, police raided five vape and smoke shops as part of an effort to remove dangerous and illegal substances from the community, especially those making their way into schools. One store, A&B Tobacco & Vape, was publicly identified as being under investigation.
- Hampton County: In April 2025, search warrants were served at two Hampton County vape shops, resulting in the discovery of illegal substances. The Sheriff’s office warned business owners that “ignorance of the law is not a defense” and that all products must comply with South Carolina law.
Broader Context
These raids often stem from community complaints, particularly regarding sales to minors and the availability of products with THC levels exceeding the state’s legal limits for hemp-derived products.
