The gray exterior of Dana Larsen’s psilocybin shop looks like a wellness boutique. Clean white script on green signage and a window showcasing potted plants and teak furniture make it inconspicuous, but inside lies a mosaic of psychedelia: paintings of Incan gods spewing fire and lightning; shelves filled with hemp lip balms and stoner-centric comic books.

Then there’s the vancouver magic mushrooms selection itself, ranging from modern products like shroom gummies and drinks to traditional dried and fresh varieties. Psychedelic mushrooms are fungi with hallucinogenic components that change the way a person experiences reality, and can be consumed orally, smoked, eaten, or brewed into a tea. It’s the latter form, popularly known as magic mushrooms, that has a cult following among psychedelic drug enthusiasts in Greater Vancouver and beyond.

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As cannabis legalization rolled out across Canada, mushroom stores opened in Vancouver and other cities, though the sale of the illicit drug remains illegal. Larsen estimates that he has about 20 customers a day, many of whom are regulars. “Watching this little store fill up with returning customers – it’s just really exciting,” he says.

While he welcomes the newfound enthusiasm, Larsen is wary of the increased attention from law enforcement. He tells Postmedia he’ll be preparing for the possibility of another raid on his Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary and Coca Leaf Cafe. For Christmas, he sent festive cards to all 87 MLAs, including Premier David Eby, with a gift of one gram of Golden Teacher mushroom and a coca leaf.