A 14-year-old walked into a Lower Merion smoke shop on Christmas Eve 2024, bought a THC-laced "Krisp Rice Treat" without showing identification and became sick. That incident is one of the cases behind felony charges Montgomery County filed against 46 businesses on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the charges at a news conference in Norristown. Each business faces one felony count of possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, first reported by Mainline Media News.
The 46 businesses span 26 municipalities and include smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores. County detectives made undercover purchases at each location over several months.
Prosecutors highlighted the Lower Merion case in the criminal complaint filed by county Detective Carl Robinson Jr. After consuming the edible, the teen became panicked, showed signs of intoxication and began vomiting, according to the complaint. The specific smoke shop was not identified by name in court records.
Two other incidents involving children also appear in the complaint. In March 2025, a 21-month-old in Douglass Township ate THC gummies found in a drawer and became lethargic and unable to stand. In April 2025, a 16-year-old in Lower Providence bought a marijuana gummy from a classmate, had trouble breathing and was transported to a hospital.
"I think folks thought we were blowing smoke, for lack of a better way to say this, about the things that were coming if they didn't abide," Steele said. "They haven't abided so we have charged."
County detectives had hand-delivered warning letters to the businesses in December 2025, telling them their products may contain illegal levels of THC and that continued sales could bring criminal prosecution. The charges also follow an October 2025 grand jury report in which investigators sent 144 THC product samples to labs. Of those, 93.75% tested positive for full-strength marijuana well above the legal 0.3% THC limit, according to North Penn Now.
Some seized products indicated they contained more than 1,000 milligrams of THC in a single gummy, NBC10 reported. Many items came in candy-like packaging that prosecutors said appeared aimed at children.
No individuals were charged. The registered owners of the 46 businesses must appear at preliminary hearings tentatively set for Nov. 9 before Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein. Prosecutors plan to seek court orders requiring the businesses to pull all illegal products from their shelves.
One business owner has already responded. 6abc reported that the owner of Smokers Market in East Norriton, one of the charged businesses, said she believed the products were legal and had recently purchased the shop. After learning of the charges, she removed the products from sale. No other business or defense attorney responses were available as of publication.
Montgomery County has 240 smoke shops, one for every two square miles, more than the number of schools in the county, according to the DA's office. Pennsylvania has no age restriction on smoke shop purchases, unlike alcohol and tobacco.
Under state law, THC in any form is a controlled substance. Sales are legal only through registered medical dispensaries. Steele told reporters that businesses continuing to sell after being charged could face asset seizure.
Assistant District Attorney James Price will handle the cases. Businesses named in the charges are being notified by mail.
