A police raid was held on Tuesday at the premises of the Funguyz company, which illegally sells magic mushrooms, on the first day of its opening. Four arrests have been made and a search is underway.
How was the opening?
The Funguyz store on Ontario Street, at the intersection of Papineau Avenue, opened at 11 a.m. Tuesday. In the space of a few minutes, the establishment attracted a dozen customers.
Inside the store, sachets of dried mushrooms, capsules containing low doses of mushrooms and various products such as chocolate and gummies with psilocybin (the active ingredient found in magic mushrooms) were deposited on tablets.
The store’s co-owner, Hector Hernandez, who advocates for the legalization of magic mushrooms, was on hand to advise customers. “If it’s your first time, I suggest the microdoses. We don’t want anyone to have a bad experience, ”he said in English to one of them.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The day took a completely different turn at the end of the afternoon when a police raid was held on the premises of the company. What exactly happened?
The police operation began at 4:20 p.m. A total of four arrests were made and a search was still in progress at the time of writing, said the spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal ( SPVM), Sabrina Gauthier.
“We expect there to be a police raid, it happened to all our businesses. If that happens, we will reopen immediately afterwards, ”said co-owner Hector Hernandez in the morning, who did not say he was worried at all.
Last week, during the police raid that took place at the Funguyz store in Barrie, Ontario, “they took our products and made arrests. We reopened as soon as they left,” he said.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal in Canada. Since January 2022, it is possible to have legal access for therapeutic purposes, but access is however very limited.
The chain of magic mushroom stores Funguyz, which already has 11 stores in Ontario, still wants to establish itself across the province in the coming weeks with two stores in Montreal, one in Laval and one in Trois-Rivières.
What are the effects of magic mushrooms?
“Magic mushrooms don’t make things appear that don’t exist like a pink elephant,” says Jean-Sébastien Fallu, a professor at the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal and a specialist in addiction.
The substance usually causes distortion of the senses, such as sight and sound perception. “The perception of time can also seem longer, it can cause introspection and it can go as far as small delusions”, details the specialist.
Some clinical trials have also shown promising effects for the treatment of anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.
These effects are caused by the psilocybin found in magic mushrooms. This substance mimics serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain involved in regulating behavior and emotions.
Funguyz sells mushroom microdosing capsules. What is the use of consuming tiny amounts of substances?
Professor Jean-Sébastien Fallu maintains that research on the effect of microdoses is still embryonic. “People are anecdotally reporting beneficial effects, but it’s not yet clear if it’s really due to the mushrooms, if it’s a placebo effect, or a mixture of the two,” he says.
The capsules sold at Funguyz contain three micro-dosage choices: 50mg, 100mg, or 200mg of mushrooms. On its website, the company claims that microdosing magic mushrooms provides “mental clarity and increased focus.”
Are magic mushrooms safe?
“Yes, mushrooms are safe, in the sense that there is no physical toxicity or risk of addiction,” says Professor Jean-Sébastien Fallu. When you look at scientific studies that rank the dangerousness of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, magic mushrooms are the least dangerous. »
It should not be a substance taken on a whim, however, believes the specialist. Indeed, at higher doses, there is a risk of bad tripan unpleasant experience under the influence of drugs.
While the substance may help some people with mental health issues, “it can also aggravate or trigger mental health issues,” he says. Several factors come into play, including the amount ingested and the frequency of consumption.
Should we be worried about the opening of the Montreal store?
“Yes and no,” replies Mr. Fallu. Since it’s not supervised by the state, it depends on the goodwill of the promoters of Funguyz, and we don’t know what the quality of these products is. However, he says he is “quite convinced” that we can trust them, “because they have no interest in there being problems among people who consume products from their trade”.
Funguyz maintains that its employees are trained and are there to advise customers. A measure that Mr. Fallu considers reassuring. “These are products that are accessible in nature and on the Internet, so it is perhaps better to have access to this information at the time of purchase. »