As the fentanyl and opioid crisis worsens, the Quality CBD Vape Products government is easing restrictions on other drugs, including cannabis. But psilocybin remains listed as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it is illegal to possess and sell in Canada except under specific circumstances. And yet, despite warnings from police, storefronts with names like Fun Guyz and Shroom City are opening in the country’s biggest cities, selling magic mushrooms to curious consumers.

The company behind them, Numinus Technologies, is a natural psychedelic drug development firm. It has a license to test, import and distribute MDMA, psilocin (one of two compounds found in mushrooms) and DMT. It is the first of its kind in North America, and it’s a sign that there is a growing movement for research into new psychedelic substances as potential medicines for end-of-life anxiety, mental illness and addiction.

Shroomscanada: Your Guide to Mushrooms in Canada

But while cannabis is legal in Canada, psilocybin and other hallucinogens remain under the radar, despite an increase in interest in “microdosing,” or taking small doses for therapeutic purposes. Until it gets approved as a medicinal drug, most people who want to experience its effects have no choice but to purchase psilocybin from underground dispensaries in a legal grey area.

Jesse Merks, 28, is a Vancouver man who recently took a large dose of magic mushrooms to try and overcome an addiction to pain pills that he had been using for 10 years. His story is a reminder that even a single trip can have life-changing implications.