Three smoke shops in Ceres were caught illegally selling hemp products in a compliance visits paid to them by Ceres Police and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).
During the inspections on Jan. 31, all three businesses were found to be selling illegal products in violation of the STAKE Act and Business and Professions Code Section 22974.2(a)(1).
Additionally, one smoke shop was found to be in possession of and selling brass knuckles, a criminal violation under state law. The illegal items were confiscated, and a criminal complaint was submitted to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office against the business owner.
Further investigation revealed that one store owner had concealed several cases of illegal products in his personal vehicle parked adjacent to his business.
CDTFA agents seized a total of approximately 3,500 illegal products. The estimated fines associated with the seized illegal products could exceed $175,000.
The operation was funded by a grant to inspect local smoke shops for compliance with state laws prohibiting the sale of illegal hemp products and flavored tobacco products.
“The Ceres Police Department remains committed to partnering with CDTFA, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, and allied law enforcement agencies to utilize every available legal tool and resource to identify and hold accountable businesses that blatantly disregard the law and jeopardize the health and safety of our community for profit,” said Acting Police Chief Trenton Johnson.
Ceres has approximately 14 smoke shops but only three were visited as a test drive of operations, said Ceres Police Sgt. Jeff Godfrey. The department will continue making visits.
“This was our first operation,” said Sgt. Godfrey. “We plan on doing more but we kind of wanted to see the type of resources that we were going to need based on these first three. It’s going to be obvious that we’re going to need a lot more resources.”
Godfrey said the Ceres Police Lt. Keith Griebel is assisting city staff in the crafting of a city ordinance to get a better handle on what smoke shops sell and provide the enforcement.
“The ordinance will provide us with an opportunity to regulate these smoke shops a little bit more,” said Godfrey. “They will have to get … a Tobacco Retail License through the city and if they violate these types of laws then their business licenses and their TRL license can be revoked for violations.”
State law went into effect in 2022 that banned flavored tobacco products and on Jan. 1 the California Department of Health enacted emergency regulations that ban THC-containing hemp products and establish stronger protections to safeguard California’s children from the dangerous effects of THC. Retail sale of hemp food, beverage, and dietary products containing detectable amounts of THC is now unlawful and those products must be removed from the retail marketplace.
Products that combine CBD and THC will continue to remain for sale at cannabis dispensaries.
