Dozens of illegal magic mushroom dispensaries operating in major Canadian cities with no guardrails: study

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More than 50 shops selling illegal magic mushrooms are operating in major cities in Canada and most of them make unsubstantiated health claims that could cause harm, according to a study by Canadian researchers published last week.

Of the 57 dispensaries found selling psilocybin as of May last year, 55 were located in Ontario or British Columbia, with 35 in the Toronto area and 15 around Vancouver. Hamilton had four and the Ottawa-Gatineau area had six.

In some neighbourhoods in Toronto, there were four shops within one kilometre, the study found. One national chain had 18 shops across the country.

“I actually think the most surprising thing to me was that when we started the study, we expected that they were all going to be independent stores,” said Daniel Myran, the study’s senior author and a family physician at Ottawa Hospital. “And it actually turned out that there’s much more sophistication and organization that’s going on here than we were anticipating.”

Dr. Myran worked with researchers from across the country to examine where the shops are located and the claims made in their online marketing materials.

The study found that the stores offered everything from dried mushrooms, to microdosing capsules and edibles such as psilocybin-infused chocolate, gummies, tea or hot cocoa powder. Some of the products were designed to mimic snack food items found in most grocery stores, such as Mustella, a knock-off of the Nutella spread.

Most of the stores made unverified health claims, including suggesting a strain to treat bipolar disorder. Other strains were said to promote increased creativity, productivity or wellness.

“While some active clinical trials are investigating the safety of psilocybin in individuals with bipolar disorder, to our knowledge, no study has looked at the efficacy of psilocybin in treating this condition,” the study notes, adding that the sites frequently misstate existing evidence.

The websites lacked sufficient warnings, the study found. For example, less than a third cautioned about use in children or use by people with a history of psychosis, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Some sites did warn about possible hallucinations or increased fear and anxiety, but only 40 per cent noted use could trigger psychosis or paranoia.

The researchers found that despite being illegal, the reported use of psilocybin has been growing, propelled by the presence of dispensaries and a legalization movement. While it remains against the law in Canada, Oregon and Colorado have created legislative frameworks to allow consumers to buy and use psilocybin under supervision at licensed centres.

“Collectively, our findings highlight the need for policymakers and regulations to catch up with increasing access to the unregulated psilocybin market. Of particular concern is the blurring between medical and nonmedical use of psilocybin,” said the study.

Dr. Myran noted that there was an estimated 5.9 per cent of Canadians who have used a psychedelic in the past year, which “increased enormously” from a decade ago.

Researchers were increasingly alarmed at dispensaries’ failure to warn clients about the risks.

“We recently published a study saying that people who required emergency-room care because of hallucinogen use were at a very elevated risk of schizophrenia,” Dr. Myran said. “Even though most people who use hallucinogens don’t end up at the emergency room, I think there are certain groups of individuals who may experience harm from using them.”

Norman Farb, associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, agreed that the effects of the magic mushroom vary from person to person. While some people might find that the psychedelic helped their mental health, others might experience the complete opposite outcome.

“I would say for every two people who said that psilocybin helped with anxiety, there might be one person who says it made the anxiety worse,” said Dr. Farb, who researches psychedelic drugs.

He said that biologically, it is almost impossible that magic mushrooms would lead to overdose or organ failure. But taking the substance can make people feel panicked, disoriented and scared as they might see or hear things they do not normally experience.

Another risk is that the psychedelic makes people process the world differently, leading them to lose the “guardrails” that keep them safe and “do things that are harmful” to themselves or others.

Dr. Farb said that he wonders how the shops are funded and why they are allowed to operate.

In an unnamed statement to The Globe and Mail, the City of Vancouver said that under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, there are no regulations in place at the federal, provincial or municipal level that allow for the sale of psilocybin mushrooms.

“If the City is made aware of a psilocybin retailer, they are subject to enforcement for operating without a valid development permit and/or business licence, which may include orders, fines and/or prosecution,” said the statement.

Vancouver police took action against the operator of two dispensaries in 2023 and the operator’s business licence was revoked. But it was restored after two of the three city councillors on the committee examining the issue concluded that the city had received no public complaints about the stores and that there was no evidence that public safety is at risk by the operation of the facilities.

The two councillors put forward a motion to city council calling for a staff report on creating a regulatory framework for retail sales of psilocybin. Their motion was defeated.

“Anyone who traffics psilocybin, specifically those who contribute to violence and organized crime, could face arrest and charges,” said Sergeant Steve Addison, media relations officer of Vancouver police, in an e-mail.

The Toronto Police Service did not respond to a request for comment.