Magic mushroom dispensaries are a type of fungus that contain the hallucinogenic chemicals psilocybin and psilocin. They’re illegal to grow, buy or carry in Canada. But you can get them if you’re in a research study or have an exemption from Health Canada (few are granted) or have your doctor’s permission to use them for therapeutic purposes.

But despite the legal gray area, mushroom stores with names like Fun Guyz and Shroom City are opening up across Canada — in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton, Vancouver, London, Ont. These shops sell dried mushrooms and mushroom-infused gummies by weight, letting customers pick from 180 different varieties of magic mushrooms that each have their own benefits, from energy to focus to relaxation.

What to Expect When Visiting a Magic Mushroom Dispensary in Canada

The storefronts are hard to miss. Paintings of colorful fungus hang on the walls of these stores, and employees stand outside handing out discount fliers to passersby. CBC K-W’s Aastha Shetty stopped by one in Kitchener, which opened Friday. Passers-by weren’t shy about stopping to ask about the products.

Dana Larsen, the store’s owner, is no stranger to pushing boundaries. He has run an illegal weed dispensary, embarked on a country-wide “Overgrow Canada” campaign giving away 5 million cannabis seeds and mailed gram-sized packages of weed to Liberal politicians. But he says the mushroom shop is his most risky venture yet. He knows police could swoop in at any moment. He’s trying to get the city to give him a business licence similar to the ones it gives to illicit cannabis shops, which would allow him to openly sell mushrooms. He says he hopes the move will crack open the door to regulation.