A magic mushrooms Canada shop called Fun Guyz is selling illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms. But unlike cannabis, psilocybin — the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms — is still classified as a Schedule III drug in Canada, which makes it a criminal offense to possess and sell it without special permission from Health Canada. Despite this, the psychedelic storefronts are popping up across the country, with several chains boasting about expansion plans in 2023. The trend is being driven by growing demand, evolving medical research and subtle policy changes.

VICTORIA — Two years ago, Thomas Hartle received a ministerial exemption to use magic mushrooms to help with his end-of-life anxiety and depression from stage four colon cancer. But his exemption has since expired, and he’s not sure if it will be renewed. He says that despite a mushrooming dispensary boom, it’s still difficult to get legal mushrooms in Canada.

Unlocking the Potential: Magic Mushrooms in Canada

The stores are hard to miss, with paintings of colourful fungus adorning their exteriors and smiling staff handing out discount fliers at busy intersections. Inside, a sign reads “walk into a new reality” and shelves are stocked with jars of dried psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms.

Though mushrooms are often used for medicinal and spiritual purposes by coastal first nations, it’s rare to find formal ethnological research of the plant in Canada. But the mushroom business is thriving thanks to a combination of factors: growing interest in psilocybin, policy changes and the fact that the mushrooms aren’t regulated by law like cannabis is.