On a sparse stretch of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street, there’s a tiny storefront selling psychedelic mushrooms and other legally dubious items. It’s called Therapsil, and the owner, Larsen, is no stranger to pushing boundaries. He’s run illegal weed dispensaries and embarked on a country-wide campaign in 2016 giving out 5 million cannabis seeds. He says he tried asking the city for a mushroom business licence a couple of years ago, but was unsuccessful. He doesn’t sound worried, however, about enforcement.Find out :www.HeySero.com

Essential Tips for Buying Magic Mushrooms & Shrooms Online in Canada

The shop is one of several that have opened in recent years, spurred by a growing demand and small changes to federal drug policy. While the mushrooms themselves are not legal, the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin have been decriminalized. And a variety of psilocybin edible products have emerged that are more appetising and easier for novices to use than raw mushrooms.

And while police raided a few stores in 2023 and arrested some owners, they say they are not focusing enforcement efforts on magic mushrooms, which are illegal to sell without a permit or exemption from Health Canada. They are still investigating other illegal drugs that are causing overdose deaths, including fentanyl. The federal government’s National Drug Analysis Service reports that psilocybin and a related compound — psilocin — have been showing up more in drug seizures than ever before. The numbers have doubled since 2017. And while psilocybin is illegal, the public’s appetite for psychedelic mushrooms appears to be growing.