Illegal magic mushroom dispensary reopens in Windsor day after police raid

Less than 24 hours after police raided the magic mushroom dispensary that set up shop in Windsor’s downtown core, Fun Guyz was back to serving customers.

A 21-year-old employee of the shop was charged and a stack of stock was seized when Windsor Police Services executed a search warrant on the establishment Thursday.

In the wake of the raid, ownership told CTV News they would reopen Friday morning at 11 a.m. as per their business hours — and there were two customers waiting when the time came.

Will Oake was first in line and said the raid did not dissuade his decision to patronize the illegal dispensary.

“I was going to bring an application, I wanna work here. Are you kidding?” Oake said. “Addiction around here is pretty brutal and things like psychedelics are a better alternative.”

However, the production, sale, and possession of magic mushrooms remain illegal.

Rotem Petranker, founder of the University of Toronto’s Psychedelic Studies Research Program, said we’re learning a lot about how hallucinogens can help – but there’s still a lot to learn.

“There is a difficult psychological experience that often accompanies these substances,” Petranker said. “Enthusiasts in particular consider it to be some kind of magic bullet that will solve all their problems.”

He added, “You just take this drug, have a trip, and then come out clean and new. I don’t think that it’s gonna replace the real work you need to do.”

He said side effects alone still require a lot more studying.

Fun Guyz ownership told CTV News their Windsor shop served 1,230 customers in the first week it was open.

“I don’t think any other store in Windsor has that many customers come in,” they said.

The representative, who identified themselves as Edgars Gorbans, said the employee charged after Thursday’s bust remains motivated to the store.

“He’s okay,” said Gorbans. “It’s a normal charge, the lawyers are going to be fighting it. All the employees are helpers. They know what they’re getting themselves into.”

Gorbans said that despite being unlicensed and illegal, their store has followed the same guidelines legal cannabis dispensaries have been following.

Covering windows, keeping strict business hours, etc.

He said, because Windsor police seized their window coverings along with everything else they had, there’s no guarantee they’ll continue to stick to that system.