LIVERMORE — Police and the California Tax and Fee Administration seized hundreds of products from a local smoke shop, ranging from flavored tobacco products now illegal to sell under state law to edibles containing the psychedelic drug psilocybin, court records show.
The operation in late May focused on a smoke shop on Contractor Street in Livermore, where police say they found flavored tobacco products and edible psilocybin products hidden in a storage area at the back of the store. The operation began as a routine check on tobacco licenses but escalated after police discovered the products.
California’s flavored tobacco ban was enacted in 2023 and upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year. It has remained controversial, with growing evidence that many retailers have simply ignored it. Similarly, some jurisdictions — such as nearby Oakland and San Francisco — have passed laws defying state and federal bans on psilocybin and passed ordinances decriminalizing the substance, which is found in so-called “magic” mushrooms.
Police say the hundreds of products seized in Livermore included nicotine liquid for vaporizer pens, cigar wrappers, as well as chocolate bars and “gum” containing psilocybin. No charges have been filed, court records show.