Shroom Canada’s capital markets landscape has seen an increase in investments related to psychedelics. Investors are seeking out companies that have proven their business models in the exempt market space and may be ready to scale up for a public offering. The current Canadian regulatory landscape for operation of a psychedelics company is complex.

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in a variety of fungi commonly known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, is a Schedule III substance under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Possession and sale is illegal, but therapists can get Health Canada exemptions to prescribe the hallucinogen for specific therapeutic purposes.

Shrooming in the 6ix: Navigating Toronto’s Magic Mushroom Scene

But a small number of brick-and-mortar stores are openly selling the mushrooms, and online searches yield dozens of options to have them delivered to doorsteps across the country. The owner of shroomcanada, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he and his colleagues are operating a “medical protest.” If they are busted, he hopes the courts will view it as a constitutional challenge to the prohibition on magic mushrooms the same way the High Courts have ruled that cannabis is protected by a citizen’s right to life, liberty and security of the person.

The small store in Osborne Village filled with returning customers while I was there, and the owners have a number of other locations in Ontario, with plans to expand to other cities. The customers range from people with depression and PTSD to seniors struggling to cope with end-of-life anxiety. A few have used the mushrooms for spiritual growth. Others use them to treat headaches and stress, cancer-related psychological symptoms, or for relief from addiction disorders.