What it’s like for Kelowna magic mushroom business operating outside the law
When people in Kelowna think of psychedelics they might think wavy colours, giggling around a campfire and a moment of self-discovery, or they might think about bad trips, police raids and nightmares.
A Kelowna man sells psychedelics as a side hustle on the wrong side of the law, but he thinks they can be helpful for some people and the general view from society is moving towards acceptance.
iNFOnews.ca has kept his identity anonymous, for relatively obvious reasons, but he’s been selling psilocybin mushrooms since 2017 and hasn’t run into any issues with police.
“I've been growing mushrooms for 14 years now,” he said. “So I have been running these businesses now since then without any issues, fortunately. . . We're careful about how we promote ourselves. We're not set up for, say, Google reviews or anything like that. We take the steps that we feel are necessary to keep it somewhat on the down low.”
Most of his sales go through an online shop. His business also has social media and he often walks around parks and beaches handing out business cards to anyone who seems like they might be interested in taking a trip.
He said the situation with mushrooms is like the situation was with cannabis before it was legalized where it's easily accessible and there isn't much pressure for law enforcement to crack down on the drug.
Currently there are no approved products in Canada that have psilocybin, which is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, however it’s still common to see storefronts and online shops that sell the drug. Psychedelics are not included under B.C.'s drug decriminalization policy.
“It is feeling very much the same way that marijuana felt 15 years ago before it was legalized for recreational use,” he said. “It's quite out in the open. It's not completely. People are still a bit cautious because obviously they don't want to run into issues with local law enforcement.”
He has kept his businesses under the radar so he hasn’t had any run-ins with police, but storefronts that openly sell mushrooms haven’t had the same luck.
Shops around the country have been raided by police, like Essence Wellness in Kelowna that was raided twice in 2023. The raids haven’t deterred a lot of people from selling mushrooms openly or shopping at stores that do.
The Kelowna man said there are even stalls at farmers' markets in the Okanagan that have magic mushrooms for sale.
While psychedelics are illegal there are some rare cases where they can be accessed legally.
Psilocybin can be used in clinical trials like a study done at a university. There's also a special access program where physicians can request substances that have shown promise in experiments but haven’t been legalized yet.
The Minister of Health can also allow people, or groups of people, to have access to psilocybin if there are factors to show that using the drug could help with a medical condition.
The University of British Columbia Okanagan has done studies on magic mushrooms, like a 2024 study that looked into access to psychedelics for therapeutic use. The study found that although there technically are ways for people to get their hands on psychedelics legally, it is so challenging that most people who feel like they benefit from their use get the drugs illegally.
“The threshold for legal access to psychedelics for therapeutic purposes is high. Our team is aware that some patients with serious illnesses have been discouraged from pursuing legal avenues and have instead turned to unregulated providers, often due to difficulties in finding a physician willing to approve this emerging therapy,” Dr. Michelle St. Pierre said in 2024.
The study found that out of 800 people surveyed who have used psychedelics, 80 per cent of them endorsed using them for therapeutic use.
“The general vibe, the general feeling in the air is that it's pretty socially acceptable,” the Kelowna psychedelic seller said.
He said that his own personal experiences and anecdotes from customers have led him to believe that when taken responsibly, psychedelics can help some people’s mental health.
“They can be extremely powerful and useful, constructive in people's lives when taken responsibly, when taken with intention,” he said.
He said he tries to educate people about using psychedelics, including a page on his website about how to use safely like starting with a very low dose and taking them in a safe, calm environment.
“I really want people to be mindful about it, to educate themselves before consuming any psychedelic,” he said.
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