FunGuyz magic mushroom shop set to open in Kitchener

A controversial magic mushroom shop is bringing a new store front to Kitchener.

FunGuyz is opening a new location at the corner of Victoria Street and Park Street. A spokesperson for FunGuyz confirmed the store is scheduled to open by Friday.

This will be the second FunGuyz location in the region after a store began selling an array of illegal psilocybin products in Cambridge last year.

Waterloo regional police raided the Cambridge store at least twice. Police made multiple arrests and seized product, but the store reopened shortly after each incident.

Cannabis and psychedelics lawyer Jack Lloyd handles dozens of psilocybin-related cases across Canada. He said many of his clients face trafficking and distribution charges and magic mushroom dispensaries like FunGuyz are breaking the law.

“It is illegal,” Lloyd told CTV News. “No way is anyone giving people advice to go into an illegal store.”

Lloyd says anyone buying or carrying small quantities of psilocybin are at risk of seizure by police, but can avoid potential charges. He said it’s the people selling psilocybin illegally that can face serious consequences.

“If you’re a clerk in one of these shops you’re facing a charge under section 5 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Schedule III, so trafficking psilocybin. A maximum penalty of 10 years in jail,” Lloyd said.

David Floyd was charged with possession of psilocybin for the purpose of trafficking because of his connection to FunGuyz. He told CTV News he hopes to see psilocybin legalized for medicinal and recreational use.

“Providing people an alternative to the traditional pharmaceutical route,” Floyd said. “Doctors for a very long time have been trying to prescribe psilocybin for a lot of mental-health-related issues but they’re just hand-tied with the current state of laws.”

Floyd is part of a court challenge in London, pushing to legalize the substance. He said psilocybin laws are contrary to freedom of thought under section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“We think it’s just a matter of time until courts catch up to the medicinal side,” Floyd said. “We hope that people go out there, do their own due diligence, and just see that there [are] alternatives out there for them.”

Lloyd listed three ways to legally obtain psilocybin:

• Clinical trials
•  Special access programs through a physician
• Special exemption

 

More information on psilocybin can be found on the government’s website.