Texas and Mass

Johnson Creek™ Vapor Liquid

23 9 / 2015
Urgent News for Vapers in MA and TX

Changes are coming to how you shop for your vaping supplies. The rumors about a ban on online shopping are false; but, in accordance with MA 940 CMR 21.00 and TX SB97, we will need to implement some changes in order to be compliant with the law. We are working very hard to ensure that this process is as easy and as seamless as possible for you.

Required Changes:

Adult Signature Required on all shipments

Effective Sept 25, 2015, all packages from Johnson Creek Vapor Company being shipped to addresses in Massachusetts and Texas will need to be sent “adult signature required”. UPS and USPS offer this service, but they require the adult who signs for the package to be 21 years old. You only have to be 18 to purchase our products in Massachusetts and Texas, but the person who signs for the package must be 21. You will not have to select anything special on the checkout page for this service. We’re handling that for you. You can select your normal shipping method.

USPS and UPS will make three delivery attempts. They’ll also leave notification and you can contact them to make arrangements for delivery or ask that they hold it at the post office or UPS depot for you to pick up there. If the package isn’t delivered, it will be sent back to us. We will re-ship your package upon request, but we will need to charge you for the shipping costs.

Age Verification on all purchases.

Effective as soon as possible, there will be an additional step to our checkout process. You will need to verify your age. The legislation requires that we verify your information with a governmental database. We have partnered with a third-party who has been authorized to have access to this type of information. We will not be keeping this sensitive information on our servers. Our team members will never see this information and will not have access to this information.

You’ll be required to provide the following pieces of information.

Name (first and last) as it appears on a government issued ID
Zip code as it appears on a government issued ID
Date of Birth
Sum of the last four digits of your social security number

Most of that is straightforward and self-explanatory. The confusing part might be the sum of the last four digits of your social security number. If your social security number is 123-45-6789 then you add up the last four numbers (6789) and you would enter the sum, which for this example is 30. This way you never have to enter the actual numbers associated with your social security number.

If the age verification step fails, you will be unable to complete your purchase. Your Customer Relations Team cannot by-pass this step and will be unable to accept any phone orders for packages shipping to Massachusetts and Texas.

This second requirement is still in progress and we’re seeking clarification from the state of Massachusetts and Texas. The requirements may change with time and we are doing our best to stay aware and compliant with all laws and regulations pertaining to the vaping industry. Keep an eye on our blog if you’d like to be kept up-to-date on legislative changes for your state.

Thank you for your support and know that we are doing everything within our power to defend your access to vaping supplies. We encourage you to get involved with the vaping advocacy group of your choice. CASAA (The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association) is an excellent organization you might want to check out at http://casaa.org.

Michael Galesky
President
Johnson Creek Enterprises

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3 Likes

Yes, in Texas this law takes effect on Oct 1 (Delayed from Sept 1). There’s much more to it then just the online sales portion. Vape Shops will be required to card anyone who is under the age of 27. Wherever Juice tasting is available no one under the age of 18 will be permitted in the store without their parents or guardian. This exempts Tobacco Shops and Convenience Stores since they do not have taste testing…

More than likely the Online Rules may actually help Texas Vape Shops. The Post Office charges extra for signature delivery. Not sure about UPS but if shipped UPS then that is high to start with. Raising the cost of shipping in Ecig products and making it a hassle as well just may really help Vape Shops Compete with online vendors. Ejuice only though. Vape Shops will never be able to compete with the Chinese Companies Selling equipment…

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How sad it has come to this…

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Sad but rules I can live with. If the FDA set rules like this rather than the witch hunt they want to have, I feel we could all live with that. At least Texas isn’t taking away our Ejuice or Equipment…

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I live in Dallas, and am a member of CASAA, so I was paying attention while this law was being made. The original version of it was MUCH worse. I think some of CASAA’s calls to action had a part in making this law (while still a pain in the ass) at least bearable.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if any of you in the US aren’t members of CASAA, it takes just a couple of minutes to sign up, and they’ll send you emails when any legislation comes up about ecigs, and often they’ll have a form letter than you can edit or just click to sign and send on. It’s the least you can do to protect your own vaping interests.

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oh, we all CAN live with it of course. This intrusiveness still makes me sad though.

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Absolutely. I’ve been an active member of CASAA for a couple of years now and try to advocate as much as I can too.

I was reading this post a little earlier and it brought to mind a question I was asked a couple months ago. It was “Why do you buy so much gear?” My reply was, “get it while I can…” and true to form the BS has begun. Right now is as good as the market will get. If you wait too long you will be in for similar or worst hassles than the good folk of Texas and Mass. When the Feds bring their wrath down on vaping you can expect it to be scarce and more expensive than it is right now. Thanks @Cloyce for your post.

2 Likes

Seems a little odd. I wonder, are two 16 year old kids legally allowed to walk into an Applebee’s without a parent? After all, they do sell alcohol. This seems like one of those laws designed to entrap people. Who has time to watch the door at some of the busy shops. Best keep the testers behind the counter so at least if you’re set up there won’t be any evidence a minor had access to them. Don’t think that happens?

When my ex-wife worked at a grocery store there were several occasions where the Alcoholic Beverage Control would roll up with a minor that looked old enough to buy alcohol. If the store employee didn’t card and sold to them, that store and employee both got huge fines and the store had to fire the employee to keep their license. Quite a racket and although not the same, this law certainly is one easily abused by authorities.

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True but they are not giving out samples of the alcohol either. As I mentioned earlier Tobacco Shops and Convenience Stores are exempt since they do not have taste testing…

In Texas first offense is a $500 fine for the employee and $1000 fine for the store…

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Clearly you’ve never been to the Applebee’s here where I live! If you’re there and watching the local college baseball game and they get a home run, the waitress comes round with a tray of the little vial type shooter tubes and gives them away…to those old enough of course. But that’s not even the point really. The point is the law is by design one easy to abuse by authorities. At the same time, if they’re going to put an age restriction on sales then yes, some type of law is necessary.

If they wanted a law that addresses public health it would be more along the lines of saying no testers. Personally I can’t bring myself to use them because how do I know that someone with cooties didn’t just use one before me? And how do I know some of their spit didn’t go through the hole in the condom and land on the drip tip? That’s just nasty.

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30 years ago I was in England and we weren’t allowed inside a restaurant with our baby because they sold alcohol. Now how silly is that! I would never buy alcohol in a restaurant to give to my baby, I’ll get it at an off-licence where it is cheap :smiling_imp:

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One of the oddest things I’ve found is in Wisconsin. You can go to bars and restaurants with your minor children and they can drink alcohol as long as you’re with them.

Wonder what that state is thinking about the e-cig industry?

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That’s really strange to me because when I lived in England (1975-1977), @16 yrs old, I could drink in any Pub. No one ever asked my age or carded me.

That used to be the norm here in TExas too.

Actually, this is interesting. … I just looked it up and it’s still legal for a minor to drink alcohol as long as they are with a parent or guardian in Texas.

from the TABC:
When may a minor legally possess an alcoholic beverage?

While in the course and scope of employment as an employee of a licensee or permittee. Also, if the minor is in the visible presence of an adult parent, guardian, or spouse or other adult to whom he has been committed by a court and if the minor is under the immediate supervision of a commissioned peace officer engaged in enforcing the provisions of this Code. [Section 106.05]

They must have changed the law then because in the mid 80’s we weren’t welcome anywhere where alcohol was served, unless they had a garden then you could sit outside.

Guess you can caulk it up to just one more way the Vaping Industry is abused while industries who’s products have actually been proven to kill (Alcohol, Tobacco) do not have to jump near the hoops. Actually after a bit of thought I realized that nearly every weekend samples of wine are given out at our local grocery stores and kids are allowed in those stores without parents…

So true, but then again, what regulating law isn’t…

With every new law they create, they are creating a new crime so they can haul more people of to prison. Just one of the results of a privatised prison system I suppose.

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Let me say that I don’t disagree with people’s frustration or downright anger at the kind of Draconian measures that have been proposed. But to demonize all regulations and laws - no. We need government in many situations, otherwise we’d live in anarchy.

You ask what regulating law isn’t (designed to be abused by authorities)
I’ll answer with one, and I don’t want my ass kicked by anyone in the transportation industry either. I was a truck driver for 16 years and still in transportation, so I feel I’m qualified to comment. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established Hours of Service regulations which mandates 10 hour breaks for drivers after so many hours of driving. It used to be 11 hrs with no break required, then it changed (to what now I’m not 100% sure) where there is a short break required after so many hours.

The intention of this law is for public safety. And while I don’t either agree or disagree with the exact terms of them as to time allowed without a break, time required for being on break etc., I also don’t believe we should just let people run wild and do as they please. Oh wait, we’re talking about a public safety issue, huh?

Well sticking with transportation laws, the seatbelt law is often called a product of the “nanny state” where government is protecting people from themselves. That seatbelts only save the life of the person wearing them. But if a 150 lb person’s body comes flying at you at 50 mph, that can leave a mark.

Again, I’m not totally for or against laws. I just want them to make sense and protect the public. The one about testers could be better written to say testers must be kept in areas of a store with restricted access such as behind a counter rather than sure, minors are allowed but if we catch them without an adult and you have testers we’ll bust your ass