Magic Mushroom Dispensary

CBC’s Josh Crabb visits a new retail operation in Osborne Village that’s challenging existing rules on magic mushrooms. Despite being illegal in Canada, these black-market shops are proliferating — from storefronts to digital marketplaces. They’re opening in places like Vancouver, where the cannabis market has become a testing ground for drug policy reform, and in cities that have decriminalized hard drugs, including Oregon, where voters recently legalized possession of psilocybin.

A Montreal magic mushroom dispensary named Fun Guyz opened on Tuesday, promoting itself as a “medical dispensary.” It sells fungi that contain the hallucinogenic compound psilocybin. The store’s owners say they’re engaging in civil disobedience to bring attention to the growing body of research that shows psilocybin has therapeutic potential. Similar shops have opened in Ontario, where police have raided them and seized stock but they’ve always reopened.

Dispelling Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction About Magic Mushroom Dispensaries

The shop sells dried mushroom powder, gummies and capsules, as well as mycology growth kits that allow customers to grow their own. It’s also selling a line of psychedelic mushrooms that have been treated to reduce their toxicity. Customers must have a session with a licensed facilitator, who stays with them while they take the fungi. The facilitator can refuse access to people who have active psychosis or thoughts of harming themselves or anyone else.

The shop has only been open a few days, but business is already picking up. A customer named Francis says he microdoses psilocybin, taking small amounts to manage the effects of a head injury he suffered in a woodworking accident five years ago. He’s a fan of the product, saying it helps him with depression and anxiety. But he’s careful not to get too hooked, because psilocybin can build up a tolerance, meaning he’ll need higher doses to feel the same effect.