At a time when the world feels like it’s coming apart, taking a mushroom can feel like a spiritual and mental reboot. And psilocybin, the compound that gives magic mushrooms their hallucinogenic effects, is also known to treat a number of mental health issues. But even as research continues to show that psychedelics can be life-changing, government figures on drug use have shown no recent increase in mushroom abuse.

Ryan Staab runs an indoor Shroom Hub farm in Virginia Beach that produces and sells hard-to-find gourmet fungi, but he’s quick to point out that what he grows isn’t magic mushrooms. He says it’s a more medicinal variety of mushroom that delivers its health benefits without intoxicating people, and he calls it “herbal magic.”

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In Detroit, nondescript white storefronts like the one on Cass Avenue are home to new-age stores selling mushrooms that serve as meat substitutes as part of plant-based diets. The Mushroom Hub, which opened June 17, offers a range of fresh varieties like maitake and porcini as well as medicinal mushroom powders that are used for coffee substitutes. It’s a mushroom-nerd’s paradise.

The Winnipeg store is the first in Canada, but owners have already launched locations in Ottawa and Toronto. CBC reporter Josh Crabb visited the store in Osborne Village and spoke to owner Adam Kagan, who hopes Winnipeg’s city officials see this as similar to cannabis retailers that quickly sprouted in the city before pot became legalized.