Magic mushroom shop shut down by police one day after opening in Hamilton
Police say they arrested two people Tuesday related to the selling of illegal products
Hamilton police shut down a shop selling illegal magic mushrooms, one day after it opened on Main Street East, the service said.
The Mushroom Cabinet was open for three hours on its second day of operations when officers arrived and arrested two people before shutting the store down and confiscating mushrooms as evidence, police said in a release Wednesday.
Police said they had obtained a warrant Tuesday morning to shut the business down.
Psilocybin mushrooms, also known as magic mushrooms, are illegal under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act, police said.
Hamilton police said they continue to investigate the store and the owner of the property.
On Monday, the shop's social media accounts announced its opening, calling it the city's "first and only mushroom dispensary."
Owner stands by medicinal use of mushrooms
A press release sent to local media earlier this week said the owner, John Francis, "believes that access to medicinal use of mushrooms can help people suffering" from mental health issues or other addictions.
In September, a dispensary chain that first opened in Ottawa called Shroomyz became Toronto's first mushroom dispensary. In November, two men — one from Hamilton, another from Toronto — were arrested and charged following an investigation into the store, Toronto police said.
Shroomyz's manager, who previously spoke to Radio-Canada under condition of anonymity, said his store exists as a "medical protest."
Since the November raid, Toronto said it had no plans to use its powers to shut down the dispensary, leaving the shop to operate in a kind of grey area.
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With files from CBC News