At least 150 cases of canadashrooms  occur each year in Canada, 75% of them involving the deadly Amanita virosa. Poisoning from these mushrooms usually presents as acute gastroenteritis, but may progress to hepatorenal failure. Treatment involves eliminating undigested mushrooms, rapid rehydration and management of liver and kidney failure.

A growing number of Canadians are exploring the hallucinogenic properties of psilocybin-containing mushrooms, or “magic mushrooms” as they are often called. However, despite being sold openly online and in storefronts in some cities, the production, sale and possession of these fungi remains strictly illegal, unless a person has obtained an exemption from Health Canada to do so.

For example, self-described contemporary shamans Gary Logan and Robert Grover, operating under the moniker The Journeymen Collective, offer luxury magic mushroom experiences that meld metaphysics with somatic and mindset training at their private centre in B.C’s Okanagan mountains. They’ve reported no problems with law enforcement and say they don’t fear prosecution if caught, but the City of Vancouver says their business licence doesn’t allow them to sell mushrooms.

Cultivating Wisdom: The Golden Teacher Mushroom E

But even if they were, the legal status of magic mushrooms is complex. While the RCMP says it has de-prioritized the enforcement of mushrooms in favour of focusing on organized crime and the opioid crisis, federally, they remain Schedule III drugs under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Possession, trafficking and cultivation of the fungi is illegal in every province except British Columbia, which decriminalized these activities on Jan. 31, 2023, as part of a wider decriminalization plan for cannabis and other illicit substances.