He's trying to push Vancouver to manage or legalize it, as cannabis sellers did in 2015. Larsen told the Vancouver Sun that Canada would not have legalized cannabis without store owners like himself, who sold cannabis before it was legal. Now, he's betting that selling the substance will push the government to go ahead and make it legal. Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018, but the illegal or semi-illegal market in Vancouver persisted, especially because of licensing issues. As of November, there were multiple stores openly selling mushrooms in the city, in one case as a way of making up lost pandemic revenue, according to the Daily Hive Vancouver.

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