Two people were arrested after Winnipeg police raided a business claiming to be Manitoba’s first magic mushroom dispensary on Friday.
Magic Mush officially launched its Winnipeg dispensary in Osborne Village on May 13. They previously opened stores in Ottawa and Toronto.
“At the end of the day, this is just drug trafficking,” Insp. Elton Hall, with the Winnipeg Police Service’s organized crime division, told reporters outside of the storefront on Friday.
Magic mushrooms typically contain psilocybin or psilocin, which are hallucinogens classified as Schedule III substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms is illegal in Canada, but some exemptions are made for people living with mental health disorders to legally use psilocybin through a health-care provider.
Two people were arrested on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking and the possession of proceeds obtained by crime in connection to the storefront, according to Hall.
Secondary locations implicated with the store have been identified in Winnipeg and more warrants could be issued, he said.
An interprovincial investigation is also possible, he said, noting Winnipeg police’s investigation into the business is ongoing and in its early stages.
Winnipeg-based lawyer Jamie Kagan, a partner at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman representing the Ontario-based owners