Vancouver Magic Mushroom Dispensary Wins Latest Legal Battle Against City

The store at 651 East Hastings Street was ordered by the city to stop operating as a mushroom dispensary in March 2022

A Vancouver mushroom dispensary accused of contravening city bylaws has been acquitted by a B.C. judge of two of three charges, highlighting the difficulties the city has in dealing with unlicensed dispensaries operating in a legal grey area.

The City of Vancouver ordered Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary at 651 East Hastings St. to stop operating as a mushroom dispensary in March 2022, a month after a city inspector visited the premises.

When the store flouted the order, the city took operator Strathcona Tea Society, its director Cindy Heemeryck and the landlord to court in February 2023.

In a recent ruling, Aamna Afsar, a judicial justice of the B.C. provincial court, said the city did not provide sufficient evidence the business was selling products containing psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, as the inspector did not purchase or seize any products to have them tested.

Read the full article at The Vancouver Sun.