With the help of a Netflix series and a new legal challenge, mushroom enthusiasts hope psilocybin will become more mainstream. But the federal government’s current approach is stifling the movement and stalling progress, say advocates.URL :https://heysero.co

It has been more than a year since Thomas Hartle received a ministerial exemption to legally treat his stage-four colon cancer with psilocybin. He says he still hasn’t received a reply about another one, even as an illegal market for the drugs booms across the country.

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Despite Hartle’s frustration, his business is booming. He estimates he earns $50,000 per month from his e-shop, with orders increasing month over month. He’s not alone: Psychedelic dispensaries have opened in cities as well as small towns across the country, including Vancouver, where a grey exterior belies the mosaic of psychedelia inside, from paintings of Incan gods spewing fire to shelves stocked with hemp lip balm and stoner-centric comic books.

While the short-term effects of mushrooms may be euphoric and joyful, overuse can lead to what is known as a bad trip, a frightening experience that may include paranoia, loss of boundaries and a distorted sense of self. Combined with other substances such as cannabis and amphetamines, these experiences can be dangerous, and they increase the risk of heart failure and other medical conditions in those with predisposed health problems.

While Hartle and others are making the most of the fungus’s popularity, government officials aren’t speaking out publicly about how they’re responding to an illegal market that appears to be growing faster than police can crack down on it. Several raids have been conducted, and arrests have been made, but the trend seems to be continuing: more shops are opening than shutting down.