Just days after it opened for business, a store selling psilocybin mushrooms, known on the street as magic mushrooms, was shut down by police.

On Friday, May 19, 2023, officers with the Winnipeg Police Service Drug Enforcement Unit executed a Controlled Drug and Substance Act search on a business in the 100 block of Osborne Street. The business, known as Magic Mush, opened its Winnipeg operation on May 13. They had previously opened storefronts in Ottawa and Toronto.

“At the end of the day, this is just drug trafficking,” said Winnipeg Police Service Inspector Elton Hall at a hastily called media briefing held outside the store on Friday evening.

Two people were taken into custody and are facing drug trafficking charges. The sale and possession of magic mushrooms is illegal in Canada for the most part. There are some instances where individuals with some mental health disorders are permitted to use the drug through a health-care provider.

Police are continuing to investigate and say that more details will be released about the arrests and items seized in the future.