City Council fines Weedz smoke shop owner; business license surrendered

The saga of the Weedz Alternatives smoke shop ended as quietly as a puff of smoke Wednesday.

Las Vegas officials closed the downtown business on an emergency basis two weeks ago because the owner, Steve Vogt, was allowing people to smoke a kind of incense that is supposed to mimic marijuana, though the incense packages were labeled with a "not for human consumption" warning label.

Five people were hospitalized after ingesting the substance at the store, according to city records. Also, license enforcement and police visited the store at 628 S. Las Vegas Blvd. 14 times for various infractions.

Vogt surrendered his business license last week, said Jim Difiore, the city's business services manager.

On Wednesday, the City Council fined Vogt $2,500 to recover the cost of the enforcement calls.

Vogt was not present when the council voted, and he wandered into the council chambers about 20 minutes later. He sat through most of the afternoon session and left before it concluded without trying to contact the council or city staff.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.