Vancouver dispensaries are openly selling magic mushrooms
In brave defiance of Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), at least four trailblazing retail dispensaries openly serve adult-use psilocybin throughout Vancouver. While it sounds risky, what matters more than prohibition is whether a business is acting responsibly, whether it serves its community’s needs, and whether local lawmakers will enforce the statutes. And based on the Vancouver Police Department’s lack of action so far, psilocybin seems low on their priority list. As a result, adult Canadians who sign medical release forms have open access to psilocybin, ranging from subthreshold microdoses to macrodose products. In a recent Vice article, dispensary owner Dana Larsen said, “Within a few years, there’s going to be hundreds of mushroom and psychedelic dispensaries across Canada.” Bottom line: Some Canadian dispensaries are taking a stand on psilocybin, contributing to a unique global standard of testing federal drug laws.
New psychedelic journal launching in 2023
From indigenous shamans to Western scientists, experts have studied psychedelics for hundreds of years. There is no shortage of papers covering topics from spiritual awakenings to mental health relief. Yet, aside from the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, few (if any) publications are laser-focused on these promising substances. Fortunately, as the third wave of psychedelic acceptance expands, more publishers are taking notice. Mary Ann Liebert Inc. publishers announced that it will launch a peer-reviewed Psychedelic Medicine journal to amplify the “growing influential research and clinical applications in this pivotal field.” Interested psychonauts can preview the journal by the end of the year. Bottom line: As psychedelic studies proliferate, researchers need more outlets to spread the word. The Psychedelic Medicine journal is just the beginning.
