The Shrooms Canadian city of Vancouver is in the midst of a mushroom boom. Amid the weed dispensaries and marijuana vape shops that dot its downtown streets, you can now buy Gold Emperor mushrooms, phallic-shaped Penis Envy strains or even psilocybin Rice Krispie bars. Despite their being illegal under Canada’s drug laws, the stores that sell these products operate in a legal grey area. Police raid them occasionally, but their stocks are replenished within days and they continue to open.

The shroom craze has parallels with the cannabis boom that swept the country in the 1990s. As with that era, there are signs the government is shifting its position on drugs.

Exploring the World of Shrooms in Canada: A Comprehensive Guide

While Health Canada has not yet approved a therapeutic product containing the psychedelic compound psilocybin, it is now granting exemptions to terminally ill patients who want to take the drug legally for medical purposes. Mona Strelaeff, 67, is one of them. She told VICE that she suffered a series of traumas during her battle with cancer and found a sense of peace when she began using psilocybin in a psychotherapy session with a psychologist.

The therapist who gave Strelaeff her exemption, Bruce Tobin, says the government should allow people to obtain psilocybin for medical purposes without having to apply for a personal exemption or request special access via their doctor. He has given Health Canada until the end of the year to respond and plans to take his case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.