E-Cigarettes Make American Prisons Big Profits

E-Cigarettes Make American Prisons Big Profits

E-Cigarettes Make American Prisons Big Profits

Prison inmates are now catching on with the craze that teens have recently been preoccupied with; vaping.

As real cigarettes are banned in federal prisons, e-cigarettes are hugely unregulated. Seven states (Alabama, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas, Illinois and Oklahoma) permit the sale of e-cigarettes in jails. A recent report suggests that e-cigs “have quickly become one of the most sought-after items in jail commissaries.”

However, this may just be the tip of the iceberg, as some sheriffs are generating huge profits by selling e-cigarettes in their jails. Private jail e-cigarette vendors are attracting the attention of local county sheriffs who gain commission for every e-cigarette sold. An example is ‘Precision Vapor’, an e-cigarette company based in Fayette County Kentucky, advertising with a banner at the Tennessee Sheriffs Association that read: “Earn $1000s for your jail.”

Many other platforms like this are generating huge profits from the sale of e-cigarettes. They often look for cash-strapped facilities, which they can then raise money by charging inmates and their families.

Conversely a series of investigations uncovered reports that investors in several e-cigarette businesses may actually be county sheriffs, as one report seemed to highlight Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold as an investor in e-cigarette business ‘JailCigs’. The report also suggested owners of that particular business are related to local sheriff Arnold. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has confirmed they are investigating this case.

Steve Lane, a construction manager, is currently running a campaign to bring Sheriff Arnold to justice. He states that Sheriff Arnold admitted to generating the money from e-cigarette commissions, however when asked where the funds had been placed “nobody can account for it.”

Lane adds that, “he’s told everybody that it’s going to this fund, but no one knows where the money is…who knows how much there is? It could be 10 bucks. It could be tens of thousands of dollars.”

With e-cigarettes becoming an increasing business with entrepreneurs and jails alike, there is no wonder why vast amounts of income may be generated in a fairly unregulated marketplace. When asked to comment by telephone, Sheriff Arnold declined.