Editor's note: The following story contains strong language which may be unsuitable for some readers.
Between arson attacks and vehicle collisions targeting illegal magic mushroom shops in downtown Barrie, and with stores popping up again almost immediately after police raids and landlord evictions, city hall and local authorities seem to have their hands full in an attempt to permanently shut them down.
In the latest violent incident to strike a local psilocybin dispensary, police are investigating after a fire, described as “suspicious in nature,” appears to have been intentionally set outside of a building which houses an illegal magic mushroom shop at downtown's Five Points intersection in the overnight hours Tuesday.
Fire crews received the call around 4 a.m. on July 15, and arrived at the building at Bayfield and Dunlop streets, which houses a take-out restaurant on the ground floor and Shroomyz, a psilocybin dispensary, on the second floor.
The blaze was knocked down quickly by firefighters, but the extent of the damage to the building has not been released.
The scene was held by police, with an investigation beginning earlier today, a fire official told BarrieToday.
With the frequency of attacks on these prohibited business ventures operating in the city, one has to wonder what's going on around Barrie's illegal psilocybin market.
Just 12 hours prior to the fire, Paul, the manager of Shroomyz, who declined to give his last name, was interviewed by BarrieToday on Monday afternoon in his shop and was asked about the quick reopening of the store after the previous location was shut down.
He confirmed they were evicted by the landlord of the building at Dunlop and Mary streets.
“Yeah, basically, after the (previous) fire … and they’ve got people (living) upstairs,” Paul said about the safety concerns due to the recurring violent attacks on storefronts.
An arson investigation was launched following a blaze on April 23 that damaged the inside of Shroomyz, at the time located at 66 Dunlop St. W., adjacent to Mary Street.
Police have said there was a broken ground-floor window on the Mary Street side of the building, with an incendiary device or substance being tossed inside the building, which caught fire. There were no injuries reported in that incident.
Today, Shroomyz is once again down for the count after what appears to be a similar arson.
“I can only assume it’s the competition that was doing that to us,” he said of the April firebombing, prior to today's attack.
As for the police efforts to weed out the illegal mushroom shops, Paul, clearly frustrated, shakes his head and points out the window at the busy Five Points intersection in the heart of downtown Barrie.
“I’ve got a front row view of one of the best back alleys in town, right? And I can walk three blocks and get a midnight massage … there’s obviously a grey area of legalities all around me,” he said of the open drug use and other potentially illegal business ventures operating in the city.
“There’s a lot more things to worry about,” Paul added.
His current Shroomyz location is situated in the space where one of their competitors, FunGuyz, was first located before they moved on to Collier Street, right across the street from Barrie City Hall, before it was also closed, and continues to be closed, due to what appears to be an intentional vehicle collision.
The layout of the vacant space was similar to what Shroomyz needed, so reopening so soon after the eviction was easy for Paul.
He claims the current landlord “knows what he is getting into,” despite the obvious insurance and legal risks of hosting a business tenant operating illegally.
Keeping the doors open and his clients serviced, by “keeping the movement going,” is important to Paul.
“It’s definitely having a positive effect on a lot of people who are excited about (psilocybin self-medication),” he said.
According to a Government of Canada web page, research around psilocybin use continues to grow.
"There is increasing interest in the potential therapeutic uses of magic mushrooms and of psilocybin, one of the active ingredients in magic mushrooms," states the web page. "While clinical trials with psilocybin have shown promising results, at this time there are no approved therapeutic products containing psilocybin in Canada or elsewhere."
The federal government says clinical trials are the "most appropriate and effective way to advance research with unapproved drugs such as psilocybin while protecting the health and safety of patients."
Meanwhile, just a few doors down on the same side of Dunlop Street, is Microzoomiez, with its storefront sign missing.
It may appear to be closed, but after a ring of the doorbell and the clicking sound of the security lock being released, the door opens to reveal they are still very much in business, despite being raided by police recently.
Undaunted by the violent incidents and the shadow of police threats hanging over their heads, this appears to be the last downtown mushroom shop currently left standing when the dust began to settle today, as it continues to operate.
How long they stay open or exist without competition is anyone’s guess.
Once through the door, a stairway leads down to the basement of the building into a wide-open room with a ramshackle counter made of plywood.
Behind the counter is Summer Snow, a manager who runs the dispensary, which she says is now a FunGuyz business, as of June 1, as the Microzoomiez business strictly deals with online sales of magic mushrooms.
This location has been open since October 2024, and this is the first instance where police raided them.
FunGuyz took the space over after the vehicle collision incident on May 16, which left that Collier Street space inoperable.
Snow says she was not working at the time when police paid them a visit almost two weeks ago.
“The other boys were, and they were arrested,” she said.
Snow claims police seized their counter, along with the mushroom products and equipment, hence the roughly assembled plywood one in place now.
She exudes confidence as she loudly rails against the city and the police after the recent raid.
“I've watched 20 people die. I've watched 20 people overdose. I have resurrected 20 people,” she exclaimed.
“I watched someone get stabbed to death, but we're worried about mushroom shops? There are five crack houses on this street. I know, I live beside one … People are dying, and it’s an epidemic," said Snow.
Despite being clearly against the law, Snow believes the industry is being unfairly treated.
“As long as we are doing it properly and we’re educating people, you know, this is a medical store. It’s medicinal,” she said. “And so, I don’t understand how we are getting raided. I don’t get it.”
Snow remains defiant in the face of legal action.
“We’ll always keep reopening,” she said. “What are they going to do, put me in jail? Put me in jail. You want a martyr for the fucking cause? Make me a martyr, but I’m not going to stop. This will change the world, and people are dying,” said Snow, her voice rising in anger.
“Even if the shop isn’t open, we have online (business), so what are you stopping here?”
Earlier this month, Barrie Police Chief Rich Johnston said officers will continue to focus on illegal mushroom shops.
“We recognize that the community is concerned with the implications of these storefronts, and the Barrie Police Service is committed to ensuring that our downtown core remains a safe and welcoming place for all members of our community,” he said in a release on July 4.
“With the support of the Barrie Police Service Board and the city, we have made it a priority to close down these shops and work towards eradicating them from our community," the chief added.
Meanwhile, at least one neighbouring business is worried the ongoing arson attacks will endanger lives and their own livelihoods, as the old Victorian buildings they all share in the downtown area are, by nature of their antiquated 19th-century building practices, susceptible to out-of-control burning, as seen with past downtown fires.
“These fires are of great concern, especially when they happen in the downtown area where the buildings are, in many cases, well over a hundred years old,” police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon previously told BarrieToday.
An employee in the shop, who declined to be identified, and also asked that the business name not be published for fear of backlash, points to equipment hanging on a rack in their place of business.
“Yeah, I’m nervous,” the young man said. “See those (tools) over there? That’s over $600 worth and they are not insured.”
