A Vancouver mushroom dispensary that was raided by police in November 2023 and has continued to flout a city order to close its doors won a significant victory Tuesday at city hall in a controversial decision reached by council’s business licence review panel.
In a 2-1 vote led by Green Party councillors, the panel overturned a ruling of the city’s chief licence inspector Sarah Hicks to suspend the business licence of the Medicinal Mushroom Dispensary at 247 West Broadway.
“I’m very happy about this decision,” said Valentin Muller, director of 1394867 BC Ltd., which operates the dispensary. “I think it’s a good first step. And I hope that we can work together with the city going forward and find common ground and come up with a proper licensing system for businesses like ours.”
The panel’s decision also went against the recommendation of city lawyer Robert LeBlanc, who warned that the purpose of the hearing was “not to advance advocacy with respect to any safe supply, or sale of psychedelic drugs.”
What happened is Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr, with support from colleague Pete Fry, successfully introduced a motion that has potentially opened the door for more illegal mushroom dispensaries to