For more than a year now, the psychedelic mushroom storefront at 247 West Broadway has defied Vancouver police. Despite repeated raids, the shop has thrived and expanded. It has a familiar feel to it, reminiscent of the early 1990s when owners of marijuana dispensaries openly flouted drug laws and mounted legal challenges to archaic prohibitions. URL magicmushroomsdispensary.ca
The storefront is owned by a group called FunGuyz, which has shops in Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton, as well as the Waterloo region. It has a minimalist interior that features mushrooms and other psychoactive plants on the walls, with books and informational material scattered about. Customers are required to show ID before purchasing and are limited in the amount they can buy. A spokesperson for the company says FunGuyz’s products are intended to be therapeutic and backed up by scientific research.
Science and Spirituality: The Intersection of Research and Experience in Canadian Dispensaries
But the federal government hasn’t eased restrictions on psilocybin, which are tightly controlled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Only a handful of patients can buy the drugs legally through Health Canada by applying for personal exemptions or requesting special access with their physician.
Despite the risks, many believe that psilocybin can be useful to help people with mental illness and addiction problems. In fact, some researchers are even studying the effects of psilocybin on depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).