A recent Facebook magicmushroomsdispensary.ca Marketplace search turned up dozens of local ads for mushrooms, many with photos of what looked like the popular psilocybin cubensis variety. Prices ranged from $10 to $200 for a single gram, or ounce. A few sellers described themselves as suburban dads involved in civic life, asking for anonymity because of legal concerns.

In downtown Toronto, a store called Shroomyz hangs a painting of rainbow-colored fungus on its wall beside a sign inviting customers to “walk into a new reality.” Another of the company’s stores is in Ybor City, where the business first started out as Florida’s first hemp dispensary and later added mushroom products that don’t contain psilocybin, a Schedule III controlled substance.

The dispensaries advertise online and over social media to attract people interested in trying a “microdose” — taking only a small amount of the hallucinogenic compound, psilocin. Those who buy the mushrooms say they want to treat anxiety, depression or end-of-life distress, as well as help themselves heal after a serious injury.

“Understanding the Legal Status of Magic Mushrooms in Ottawa and Beyond

At lower doses, the mushrooms can warp the sense of time and space, overlay visual perception with repetitive geometric shapes and change colors. Higher doses produce more complex open or closed-eyes visual hallucinations, such as auras around lights and a sense of melding with the environment.

Possessing magic mushrooms is a misdemeanor to felony level offense in Texas, depending on how much psilocybin is found and whether police believe there was an intent to sell or distribute. But Eugene Oscapella, a lawyer who specializes in drug policy, says law enforcement has discretion over which cases to pursue and might consider other issues more pressing before going after mushroom shops.