Amid a backdrop of hemp lip balms and stoner-centric comic books, the gray exterior of Dana Larsen’s shop in downtown Vancouver belies its mosaic of psychedelia. The mushroom shop has been selling psilocybin — also known as magic mushrooms — for more than two years, while Canadian police turn a blind eye.
The legal grey area gives Canadian mushroom shops and online retailers an opening, despite the fact that psilocybin is still classified as a prohibited drug in Canada. Although select medical patients can possess small amounts of the drug for treatment, it is illegal to sell any amount. That has not stopped entrepreneurs, though, who are finding that consumers are increasingly willing to pay more than $20 for a single psychedelic cap.
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Mushroom stores with names like Fun Guyz have opened in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and London, Ont., over the last year, selling the fungus and its extracts by weight or in products such as chocolate or gummies. Psilocybin, which produces a mind-altering experience similar to LSD or mescaline, is sold on its own or in strains, and many stores also offer lab-tested shrooms to ensure quality and safety.
