BC Court Rules Against Vancouver in Dispute Over Shop’s Sale of Psychedelics

A B.C. judge has ruled the City of Vancouver failed to prove that a shop advertising psychedelic mushrooms for sale sold illegal products, but found the store guilty of ignoring a municipal order to stop operating as a mushroom dispensary.
Judge Aamna Asfar said that while it was possible the shop, Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary, sold mushrooms, the city failed to meet the standard of proof needed by the court to establish the business sold products containing psilocybin—the psychoactive compound found in magic mushrooms.
“I find that the City has not established that the business was operating in the absence of a subsisting licence and therefore I find the defendants not guilty.”
The defendants argued that the business has a licence and was complying with the rules of that licence to sell retail items such as clothing and books. They said the sale of mushrooms counts as retail sales and doesn’t require a new development permit.
The city argued there is no licence category for a mushroom dispensary because selling products containing psilocybin is prohibited under federal law. It said it doesn’t have to prove there was psilocybin in the products, only that the store offered psilocybin for sale.
A spokesperson with the city told The Epoch Times in an email that city officials cannot comment further on the case because it is still before the courts.
At the time, Leung said he saw a large sign outside the shop that read “mushroom dispensary, psychedelics, coca leaf, kratom, peyote, LSD, DMT,” according to the court record.
He said he also saw a sandwich board outside the shop that read “mushroom dispensary, peyote, kratom, microdoses, coca café, coca max tea, sandwiches, coffee, posters and books.”
Leung took photos of the sign, which were submitted to the court for evidence.
Inside the shop, Leung said he saw two counters. One of the counters had signs that read “medicinal mushroom dispensary” and another sign that said “no minors.”
The court documents note that he also saw a glass case next to that counter with products in plastic bags with weights and prices. Bottles in the case read “LSD,” “LSD micro dose bottles,” and “NN-DMT powder.”
He estimated 90 to 95 percent of the shop was related to mushrooms, and the remainder was dedicated to the sale of food and drinks.
“There is no evidence that he spoke to any customers. He did not see any sales transactions between the people in the premises,” Asfar said.
Leung took a document from the shop that said it was a membership application for the medicinal mushroom dispensary. Photos of the form were provided to the court.
“The application included check boxes where an applicant must attest that they are aware of the risks involved with using psychoactive substances, that the psychoactive substances will be used in a safe and responsible manner, that the applicant will not drive or carry out various other activities while impaired by psychoactive substances, that the substances will be kept away from children and pets and that the applicant has shown identification proving they are over the age of 19,” the court document said.
Asfar said that Leung concluded the business was operating an illegal mushroom dispensary, but he did not buy anything from the shop or seize any of the products to have them tested for psilocybin.
It was this evidence that led to one guilty verdict against the shop.
“The evidence clearly establishes that operations continued in defiance of the orders,” Asfar wrote in the decision. “A reasonable and lawful course of action is not to simply ignore the orders and continue operations because you disagree with the orders. It is analogous to receiving a driving prohibition, disagreeing with it, and continuing to drive without challenging the prohibition through proper channels and having your licence reinstated.”
Two Green Party Vancouver City councillors re-instated the business’s licence during a special meeting on March 5, 2024.
One of the councillors, Pete Fry, said the owner of the shop had not been technically convicted at that time. He also noted that there were a lot of businesses in Vancouver selling mushrooms and compared the decision to re-licence the shop to the situation in 2015, when the city allowed cannabis stores to operate.
Mayor Ken Sim said he was disappointed in the councillors’ decision, saying the assessment made by the city’s inspector to suspend the shop’s licence was “appropriate.”