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