A mushroom dispensary on East Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver is back up and running after the operator was found not guilty of city bylaw offences.
“I think it’s a good ruling. It’s kind of a technical ruling,” said Dana Larsen, owner of the Coca Leaf Cafe, a medicinal mushroom dispensary.
The City of Vancouver claimed the dispensary was violating its business license as a retail and food establishment by selling magic mushrooms containing psilocybin, a psychedelic drug that is illegal in Canada.
The allegations stemmed from a 2022 city inspection of the business with the inspector saying the store looked a lot more like a mushroom dispensary than a cafe.
However, the review noted the inspector “did not purchase anything from the business, seize any of the products or have them tested to determine if they contained psilocybin.”
The inspector also noted that the dispensary has membership cards in which members agree to use psychoactive substances safely and keep them away from minors.
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“It’s not a big secret what we do here or anything like that, but the reality is a license inspector is not empowered to test substances, to purchase allegedly illegal substances,” Larsen said.
The ruling stated a “possibility or probability does not meet the standard of proof.”
Advocates say it is time for the city to stop the court challenges and start regulating mushroom dispensaries, similar to the medical marijuana dispensary licensing system.
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“It was a bit of a wild west where stores were popping up everywhere,” councillor Mike Klasses said of the sale of cannabis products in Vancouver.
“I don’t think we want to see that kind of problem occur again in our city.”
The court did find the dispensary operator guilty of defying the city’s order to shut down but Larsen said they are not going anywhere.
“(I) think this shop will outlast the current city council,” he said.
Last November, Vancouver police raided three of Larsen’s mushroom dispensaries and said it seized controlled substances.
Police said they will be recommending charges to Crown counsel.
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