Police arrest 4 during raid at Montreal magic mushroom store on day of opening

Hours after its grand opening Tuesday, an illegal magic mushroom dispensary in Montreal was raided by police officers.

Officers descended on the FunGuyz store Tuesday afternoon after obtaining a warrant and arrested four people, a police spokesperson said.

The illegal shop opened despite threats from as high up as the mayor that it would be shut down.

However, a store spokesperson told The Canadian Press that he expects the store to reopen Wednesday and that the raid was a "waste of taxpayers' money."

His other franchises in Ontario have been raided in the past by police. A location in Windsor, Ont. was raided by officers on July 6 but was reopened hours later and resumed serving customers.

"We’re just getting started and we hope that the word gets out," Edgar Gorbans told CTV News Windsor on Tuesday, as he embarks on a broader challenge to regulations on hallucinogenic drugs in Canada.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said that the city would "apply the law" and that Montreal police (SPVM) officers would be ready to act if the store were to open.

Customers could purchase seven, 14, or 28-gram bags of dried mushrooms with such brand names as "African Pyramid," "Blue Meanie" or "Penis Envy" or microdose psilocybin options in 50, 100, or 200 micrograms.

A customer shows off the magic mushrooms he purchased at the opening of the FunGuyz dispensary in Montreal on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Angela Mackenzie/CTV News)

One customer at the Montreal location said Tuesday he purchased products to help with a medical issue.

"I had a head trauma five years ago, and I lost some capacity to focus at work, and I saw on YouTube a neurologist who said that it could improve brain capacity from microdosing, so it's a test," he said.

The store's owner said before the location was opened that, "We're trying to provide access to psilocybin that the government can't."

• LISTEN on CJAD 800 Radio: Owner of Montreal magic mushroom shop that was raided by police speaks out

MORE LOCATIONS PLANNED IN QUEBEC

Dr. Houman Farzin uses psilocybin to treat cancer patients in palliative care at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. He told CTV News that he believes movements like this will help with destigmatization and more favourable public opinion around the drug, but he does exercise caution.

"Doing these sorts of experiences can bring out things that require support. And so if someone does something in an unsupported environment, these substances are amplifiers of our psyche and so it can definitely cause harm," said Farzin, a member of the training committee for the non-profit organization TheraPsil, which advocates for legal access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy.

"It has caused harm in the past. In the clinical trial setting, it has been proven to be extremely safe."

Magic mushrooms are for sale at the FunGuyz dispensary in Montreal. (Angela Mackenzie/CTV News)

The chain has other locations in Canada that have been raided by police. The owner has vowed to launch a constitutional challenge with the hopes of legalizing the products.

FunGuyz said it plans to open other locations in Montreal, including one in Laval.

With files from CTV's Angela Mackenzie and The Canadian Press