Montreal police raid magic mushroom shop on its opening day

Montreal police raided a store selling illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms on the same day that it opened Tuesday.

Montreal police spokesperson Const. Jeanne Drouin said four people were arrested. They will be questioned by investigators and could face criminal charges, she said.

"The investigation is ongoing and accusations might follow," she said.

The shop, FunGuyz, advertises itself as a "medical dispensary" that sells magic mushrooms, a type of fungusthat is considered a hallucinogen.

It is located on Ontario Street, just east of Papineau Avenue. It opened Tuesday, its colourful window art showing psychedelic mushrooms. Officersraided the shop in the afternoon, closing it for the day and establishing a perimeter around the store with police tape.

The production, sale and possession of magic mushrooms are illegal in Canada, except for some medical contexts which require special permission from Health Canada.

But the people behind FunGuyz say they should be legalized.

FunGuyz already operates 11 locations in Ontario, five of them in Toronto. Police have raided several of the stores, have seized stock and arrested employees, but each store reopened shortly afterward.

Their owners are challenging the charges in court, a spokesperson for the store said Monday.

At the store Tuesday morning, a man working behind the counter who identified himself as one of the owners and said his name was Hector Hernandez said he and his partners expected police to raid the store, but said he wanted to assure customers that it would reopen immediately.

Montreal police would not say whether they plan to return to the store every day it opens. Drouin said she cannot reveal the investigative techniques police are using this case, but she reaffirmed that selling magic mushrooms remains illegal in Canada.

Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante said in a statement that, "despite her administration's strong position in favour of decriminalization of drug possession" the sale of psilocybin, which is the psychedelic compoundfound in the mushrooms, remains illegal and Montreal police "will continue to enforce the law."