A Vancouver City Council sub-committee has voted to reinstate the business license of a magic mushroom shop — drawing the ire of Vancouver’s mayor.
The business license hearing on Tuesday featured three city councillors — two Green Party and one ABC — who were drawn at random to vote on the reinstatement of The Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary’s license.
The dispensary on West Broadway was the target of a search warrant on Nov. 1, during which Vancouver police say they were raiding storefronts that sold illegal psychedelic drugs.
Councillor Pete Fry, who voted in favour of the motion alongside fellow Green councillor Adrienne Carr, says the decision was made because there wasn’t a clear history of multiple violations to back up the “gross misconduct” the dispensary was accused of.
He adds their decision was made based on the recommendations put forth by the city’s chief license inspector.
According to the business’ license application, it initially applied to sell “party supplies” and the city changed that to specify that the store sold “novelties.”
“We’ve suggested the licensee come back with requesting a license under something that’s a little more specific,” Fry said.
However, Mayor Ken Sim sent out a statement Tuesday afternoon