Kelowna magic mushroom shop plans to reopen after RCMP raids

Two Kelowna RCMP raids left the doors of a magic mushroom shop shuttered, but its owners haven't given up.

Earlier this month Essence Wellness, a psilocybin dispensary in downtown Kelowna, was raided by Kelowna RCMP for the second time in three weeks.

Police haven't said much about the drug-related search, refusing to even identify the business or say if anything was seized.

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Since the second raid, however, the store remains closed.

The owners have refused to comment since police started taking action, but they announced through social media they aren't backing down.

"We are temporarily closed due to the recent raids and have been working hard on a plan moving forward to continue to serve you, our loyal customers," the store's Boxing Day social media post read.

The first search came just weeks after co-owner Benny Dornan spoke with iNFOnews.ca who said he wasn't deterred by similar raids at Vancouver drug dispensaries.

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BC RCMP ignored questions regarding known Okanagan psilocybin dispensaries at the time.

Dornan, meanwhile, said he hoped police would leave the store to operate under its compassion club model.

"I'm hoping they leave us alone because they've been through all this before with cannabis, and they see where it's going," he said.

No criminal charges laid since the first search on Nov. 24, according to court records.

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