The International journal on drug policyJul 9, 2026

Canadians' knowledge and views on psychedelic drug stores, their rules, and public health

Psychedelic Science Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jul 10, 2026

Abstract

Nearly 60 psychedelic retail stores selling psilocybin and DMT have been documented in Canada in 2023.

The proliferation of these stores mirrors the cannabis landscape prior to its legalization and regulation.
Public responses to these shops have varied between tolerance and law enforcement.
Concerns have been raised among public health authorities regarding the implications of these stores.
There is a significant gap in research about Canadians' knowledge, perceptions, and opinions on these psychedelic retail stores and their regulation.

Simplified

Psychedelic retail stores illegally selling psilocybin, DMT and related substances have proliferated in Canada, with close to 60 brick-and-mortar shops documented in 2023. This echoes the pre-legalization and regulation cannabis landscape. Public responses have remained inconsistent, oscillating between de facto tolerance and enforcement of the law, raising concerns among public health authorities and other stakeholders. How to regulate these stores has become a pressing policy question, yet no research has examined what Canadians know, perceive, and think about the stores and their regulation.

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Competing interests

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

PubMed

Canadians' knowledge and views on psychedelic drug stores, their rules, and public health

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

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