Police raid illegal ‘FunGuyz” magic mushroom shop a second time

The “FunGuyz” magic mushroom shop in Montreal was visited by the police for the second time in as many weeks Thursday afternoon, around 4:15 p.m., 48 hours after its reopening.

This time, the police also targeted a residence located just above the illegal establishment.

The SPVM confirmed that three separate searches took place as part of this operation. One in the shop, another in the residence above the shop, and a third elsewhere on the island of Montreal.

A 26-year-old woman was also arrested at the store and will face drug trafficking charges. A total of five people have been arrested in connection with Thursday’s operation.

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This is the second time the store has been visited by the police since it opened on July 11. The first time, four people were arrested. None of these four people were arrested yesterday.

The owner of the magic mushroom shop has been vocal in the past about willingly defying the law, despite the police raids.

They had already stated to media that they planned to reopen immediately, after the first raid occurred.

Roberta Harthel-Côté, a criminal defence attorney based in Montreal says that in a case like this, the store owner is likely to face an indictable offence. If convicted, this offence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Additionally, there is the possibility that a judge may order the shutdown of the store.

“Unless the police and the local administration decide to turn a blind eye, they could continue to keep raiding the stores,” said Harthel-Côté.

Magic mushroom stores are opening illegally across Canada, challenging the country’s drug laws, but experts say the illicit vendors are unlikely to radically advance acceptance of the hallucinogenic fungi among authorities – or the public.

Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in magic mushrooms, is increasingly used in clinical trials examining its therapeutic effects. But a rapid growth in the illegal hallucinogenic drug market could stifle progress by turning public opinion against the substances, said Dr. Andrew Bui-Nguyen, whose clinic offers government-sanctioned psychedelic treatments to select patients

It’s unclear who owns FunGuyz, which sells psilocybin online and boasts ten locations in Ontario. A man claiming to be the store spokesman has given two different spellings of his name to The Canadian Press and has refused to provide identification. He has said the Montreal store opened as a form of protest to increase access to psilocybin.

– With files from the Canadian Press