There鈥檚 no hiding what鈥檚 being sold inside Shroomyz Dispensary in downtown Toronto. A giant rainbow mushroom covers the windows, with a sign below inviting customers to 鈥渨alk into a new reality.鈥
The shop is one of three locations the company has in Ontario, and there are plans to expand further.
鈥淲e are operating a medical protest,鈥 James, who would only give his first name as what he and the others who work at Shroomyz are doing is illegal, told CTV National News.
鈥淲e are here to give the public easier access than having to go to street dealers,鈥 James said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a safer alternative.鈥
Magic mushroom dispensaries are popping up in cities across Canada, with customers ranging from those looking for treatment for depression or PTSD to people wanting to 鈥渕icro-dose鈥 a small amount of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms.
A Shroomyz locations was raided by Toronto police on Nov. 13, 2022, a couple of months after it opened. Two men were arrested and charged with drug and trafficking related offences. The store re-opened two days later.
鈥淲e all know the risk that鈥檚 here,鈥 James said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all fighting for the cause, to legalize it.鈥
While the situation is in some ways reminiscent of when cannabis retailers set up shop before marijuana was legalized in 2018, Health Canada says there are no plans to legalize or decriminalize psilocybin products.
鈥淗ealth Canada is aware of increasing interest in the potential therapeutic uses of psilocybin,鈥 the federal agency wrote in a statement, adding 鈥渢here are no approved therapeutic products containing magic mushrooms or psilocybin in Canada or elsewhere.鈥
While legislative and regulatory changes are not planned, there also appears to be little effort to stop people from opening dispensaries and selling products containing psilocybin.
It鈥檚 a frustrating situation for Thomas Hartle, who has Stage 4 cancer that鈥檚 terminal. In 2020, the Saskatoon man became the first person in Canada to legally gain access to psilocybin-assisted therapy to help deal with his end-of-life anxiety.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really know when the end is going to come for me,鈥 Hartle told CTV National News. 鈥淎nd there isn鈥檛 really anything I can do about that. The looming nature of that gives me really bad anxiety, as you might imagine.鈥
Hartle says traditional medication helped take 鈥渢he peaks鈥 off the anxiety, but they also numbed him to other emotions like joy and love, things he wants to experience with his family as much as possible. For him, psilocybin-assisted therapy helped ease his anxiety without compromising other emotions.
But his legal exemption for psilocybin expired more than a year ago, and Health Canada has not responded to his renewal application. As he waits for a legal way to obtain psilocybin he鈥檚 watching an illegal market grow.
鈥淚t seems a push in the wrong direction, to be encouraging Canadians to do something illegal,鈥 he said.
Hartle and six others are , challenging the constitutionality of the current controlled substance status of psilocybin, calling it a roadblock to health care. Hartle says he could access doctor-assisted death in a matter of weeks, yet is being prevented from accessing a drug that could improve the life he wants to keep living.
鈥淚t has taken 400 or 500 days to try to get access to a therapy that will improve my quality of life,鈥 he said.
Health Canada says the best way to access psilocybin is through a clinical trial, of which a number are being conducted. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto just began a three year clinical trial looking at whether psilocybin can be an effective treatment for mental health issues like depression without the psychedelic effect.
While other studies have shown some promising results, CAMH clinician scientist and psychiatrist Dr. Ishrat Husain says much more 鈥渞obust science鈥 is needed to determine the safety of psilocybin.
鈥淚鈥檓 concerned about the increase in access to psilocybin and other psychedelics,鈥 Dr. Husain told CTV National News. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know who it鈥檚 helpful for, who it鈥檚 safe to use in. And you often don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e getting when you鈥檙e getting it from these dispensaries.鈥
Some argue legalizing psilocybin would lead to more regulation and a safer drug supply, pointing to the legalization of cannabis as a roadmap. But Dr. Husain says there are key differences, especially given the psychedelic nature of psilocybin.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see it becoming a product that would be suitable for personal consumption,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y view is that it will be hopefully a treatment option because we definitely need more, but it will probably be delivered at places like CAMH with the proper support.鈥
But with thousands of Canadians experimenting with 鈥渕icro-dosing,鈥 the shops and websites supplying them magic mushrooms have no plans to stop.
鈥淲e are trying to give accessibility to the people who need it,鈥 said James.
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