The colourful mushroom artwork on the walls, books about magic mushrooms and a mushroom menu make it hard for customers to miss the shop. Inside, a man who wouldn’t give his name says he and the people who work for him are operating “a medical protest” by opening the store, which is one of several in Canada called Fun Guyz. He says police are pressuring their landlords to ask them to close and that they’re wasting taxpayer money by cracking dow n on psilocybin stores when other substances like heroin, cocaine and alcohol are fuelling street crime. This link magicmushroomsdispensary.ca

Despite the fact that psilocybin is classified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and is only legal to possess with a prescription in very specific circumstances, shops selling the hallucinogen are popping up across the country. Customers range from those who use psychedelic mushrooms to treat depression or PTSD to those who want to micro-dose a small amount of the drug to learn its effects.

Top 5 Magic Mushroom Dispensaries in Canada

In downtown Ottawa, a man who wouldn’t give a name operates the Golden Teacher, which opened in December 2021 and sells mushrooms, gummies, chocolates and microdosing capsules that contain the psychoactive substance psilocybin. Despite a search warrant being issued by the building’s owner ordering the business to stop selling drugs, the shop is still open.

Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer who specializes in drug policy, says it’s important to remember that police have discretion over what they pursue and may have more pressing issues to deal with. He says some factors that influence whether police investigate a store include noise complaints, reports of selling to minors and links to organized crime.