Boise police crack down on smoke shop products. Businesses are ‘in shock’

High Mountain Smoke Shop operated in Boise for the past five years.

Last month, a Boise police officer walked into the store to inform Cody Denton — who managed High Mountain for his mother, the owner — that in the eyes of law enforcement, 85% of the store’s products were illegal in Idaho.

“They told us they might send in some undercover detectives or cops, and if we sell to them, we’re looking at up to nine years per piece of product that we sell,” Denton told the Idaho Statesman by phone.

Denton’s store on Fairview Avenue was not the only one visited by police. In recent weeks, Boise officers have visited 55 local smoke and vape stores to inform them that they would begin providing education on Idaho drug statutes, followed by increased enforcement, according to Boise Police Department spokesperson Haley Williams.

Williams told the Statesman that the department has decided to dedicate more time to “reviewing business practices at all local vape and smoke businesses, starting with an ongoing education phase which stops the sale of these products and allows each business time to comply with Idaho code prior to any criminal investigation.”

Stores were told they must remove items that police deem to be violating Idaho code within two weeks.

So what are those items? Police told the Idaho Statesman that they did not have a list that smoke shop owners could check. Instead, Williams said police would begin enforcing anything that in their mind falls under Idaho statute 37-2734B.

That law requires a judgment call. It states that it is “unlawful for any person to deliver, possess with intent to deliver, or manufacture with intent to deliver, drug paraphernalia, knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know” it will be used for illegal drugs.

Denton and other store owners have been left confused. He said police have been in the store numerous times over the years, but never commented on their products before the March 13 visit.

“They were OK with it for so long and then all of a sudden flipped the script,” Denton said.

As a result, High Mountain Smoke Shop closed its doors for the last time on March 31. Denton said it wasn’t feasible to continue operating without the majority of its inventory.

“The store is our main income,” Denton said. “We have a second store in Oregon, but it’s a much smaller town with much lower sales. The store was definitely kind of a lifeline. Now we have two other employees who will be unemployed because of this.”

Arrest led to new business scrutiny

Isaac Lopez, general manager of Boise-based smoke and vape products distributor Durity Distribution, said he’s “in shock” over the changes, and he has been connecting with store owners across the area who feel the same way as a result of the police department’s sudden enforcement.

“They were kind of threatening our employees with like, ‘Hey, you can get a felony or $30,000 fine for this stuff,’” Lopez said.

Products that stores were told could get them in trouble included glass pipes, metal pipes, wood pipes, grinders, electric burners, rolling papers, 510 thread batteries and silicone containers — all items that smoke shops have been selling for years, and all items that could have legal uses as well as nefarious ones.

So what changed?

Williams said the department “began reviewing business practices at all local vape and smoke businesses” after an investigation that resulted in the arrest of the owner of PB’s C-Store, a convenience store located at 1265 S Capitol Blvd., across from the Boise State campus.

In March 2024, an alcohol compliance officer began investigating the store on suspicion of selling alcohol to minors and found “a large amount” of illegal drug paraphernalia being sold in the store, a Boise police release said.

Owner Paramjit Sinh, 50, is facing six felonies relating to delivering or possessing controlled substances or drug paraphernalia.

Williams said an increase in hiring also allowed officers to dedicate additional time to smoke and vape shop enforcement this year.

“Through multiple investigations, Boise Police officers found that many local vape and smoke businesses have operated with little oversight for years, selling merchandise that violates Idaho state code,” Williams said.

Idaho law leaves businesses without clear answers

Lopez said his main frustration is the lack of clarity — both from police and the Idaho statute itself.

Many items mentioned are popular among users of legal products such as tobacco and CBD, while also being used for illegal drugs such as marijuana, he said.

“My thing is, are we making guns and knives illegal because somebody buys a gun and then shoots a human being with them, or do we blame it on the person that’s using it that way?” said Drake Fischer, owner of Durity Distribution.

Williams said it can be obvious when a product goes against the statute. “Sometimes it is as simple as the manufacturer listing the product(s) for cannabis use only,” she said.

Other times, it’s not about the product as much as “what else is being sold and the totality of the circumstances,” Williams said.

“In many cases, pipes and bongs that are offered for sale have no application for use with tobacco and manufacturers detail them as marijuana or ‘weed’ bongs for their intended use,” Williams said. “Moreover, many stores are not offering loose-leaf tobacco for sale, or very small amounts of it, due to very limited demand. Some of these examples are why BPD has been having face-to-face meetings with store owners to explain things, and they all know who they can reach out to with questions anytime.”

Williams gave the example of a pocket-size scale. That benign item can be considered drug paraphernalia if “sold in a storefront along with items manufactured for cannabis use,” Williams said.

Lopez argued that these are gray areas in the law and that police judgment calls significantly burden store owners. Lopez has operated in the smoke industry in Boise for 10 years and has often tried to get clarity from officials, he said — to no avail.

He said his attorney contacted the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office and Boise police in the past to ensure his products were compliant with Idaho law.

“They’ll tell us that they will not give us any type of legal advice, and they’re not there to clarify the law for us,” Drake said. “Over the last 10 years, I’ve heard that probably 15 times when I’ve called on different products.”

Boise police said the decision to increase enforcement was an internal one. Other local departments don’t appear to be doing anything similar. The Nampa Police Department, for instance, told the Statesman that it is not making changes to smoke shop enforcement.

“Part of Idaho’s issue is that they’re not making this information easy or forthcoming,” Fischer said. “Their statutes are very, very vague.”

Lopez said Durity Distribution has been working with an attorney and hopes to address the new Boise enforcement through civil action.