Magic mushroom dispensaries multiplying in southwestern Ontario, with no cap in sight

Flying in the face of local law enforcement, a chain of illegal brick-and-mortar magic mushroom dispensaries with locations in London, Windsor, and across the province is expanding to more local municipalities, strengthening a trend reminiscent of the pre-legalization cannabis market.

A recently opened storefront in St. Thomas is the latest move for FunGuyz, the entity that runs at least 13 dispensaries in Canada and one in Detroit, with a spokesperson suggesting other nearby small towns may be next.

"We're looking at Sarnia, Strathroy, smaller cities surrounding London," said a spokesperson who identified themselves only as Edgar and said the St. Thomas store opened last week.

In the past, different spokespeople for the company have all identified themselves as Edgar, or Edgars Gorbans. When asked if the name was real by CBC Windsor in early August, one spokesperson claiming to be named Edgar Gorbans said  "could be," and "of course not."

The latest expansion comes despite recent police raids at FunGuyz stores. London Police raided the local store in early July, whereas Windsor Police have raided their local store multiple times, and issued an arrest warrant for the store's owner, who they identified as Edward Gorbans. 

Both stores reopened after being raided and have been operational since.

St. Thomas police declined to comment when asked by CBC News if their city's FunGuyz location would be met with the same treatment. St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston did not return requests for comment, either.

Meanwhile, officials in Strathroy — which FunGuyz is eyeing for a new location — had a clear message when asked to comment on the potential for an illegal dispensary in their town.

"We welcome any legal business to Strathroy," said Mayor Colin Grantham. "Magic mushroom dispensaries — they're illegal."

Brent Cushman, the municipality's deputy police chief, said Strathroy-Caradoc Police will make a decision on how to handle a dispensary if and when it opens. 

"It's a bit concerning. If they do decide that they're going to open a shop in Strathroy, we'll investigate it accordingly," said Cushman.

Legalization likely distant

Since magic mushroom shops began sprouting up across the region, some have drawn parallels between the illegal pot shops that preceded cannabis legalization and current illegal mushroom shops. 

Still, there are experts who are skeptical that the legalization of psilocybin is imminent.

"I think the analogy kind of falls down a bit after those comparisons. I haven't heard any sense that there's going to be a regulated market for mushrooms, as there is for cannabis," said Andrew Hathaway, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Guelph, who studies illicit drug use, harm reduction, human rights and Canadian drug policy.

That being said, there is still significant policy reform happening in other parts of the world, including in some states, and the existence of these dispensaries does have the effect of building momentum for activists.

"In London, you know, I think back to the days of Mark Emery and the City Lights bookstore, selling cannabis cuttings out of that location and things like that as a way to kind of provoke change," Hathaway said.

Spreading dispensaries to smaller, more rural and conservative communities could be a strategy designed to provoke a response as well, Hathaway suggested.

Regardless of motive, he said he believes the bottom line is that harshly policing illegal dispensaries is a surefire way to misuse police resources.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to make [psilocybin] any kind of police enforcement priority, frankly," said Hathaway, pointing to larger threats like fentanyl. "It's not highly addictive, people who have bad experiences just don't take them again."

"Canada does seem to take some pride with cannabis legalization as being embracing a public health approach to substance use. If we're going to make significant progress it's time to stop with the contradictions and choose one path or the other."