Shroomscanada is the Only Canadian Magic Mushroom Shop in the Grey Zone

Amid a canada mushroom  a new breed of entrepreneurs are operating small shops offering mushrooms and other psychedelic products in Canada. But despite their popularity, they’re still running in the grey zone and face the possibility of being shut down by police or having their products confiscated.

Magic mushrooms contain psilocybin, a hallucinogen classified as Schedule III under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which makes the sale, production and possession of magic mushrooms illegal without a licence from Health Canada or an exemption to sell them for therapeutic use. It’s a situation similar to marijuana, which is legal in some provinces but not others.

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In 2020, Health Canada cleared the way for people living with serious mental health conditions to be prescribed magic mushrooms by a doctor. But until the federal government changes the law, many of these shops, like the one in Vancouver called shroomscanada, are still relying on a gray area to operate legally.

At shroomscanada, customers are welcomed into a minimalist store with a mix of art and books on the topic and a menu displayed on two screens featuring dried and edible mushroom options. To buy, customers must present ID and pay cash. They’re also warned about the risks of taking psilocybin, including seeing and hearing things that aren’t there, anxiety and muscle twitches and an increased heart rate and blood pressure.

The owners of the Winnipeg shop, which opened Nov. 1, have opened locations in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton, Ont. They don’t have a permit from the city and are avoiding zoning issues by using an address for a coffee shop. But the Winnipeg police service says it’s aware of the business and that officers work with federal inspectors to check on dispensaries.