Arbor Shrooms Delivery Service Raises Legal Questions in Ann Arbor

Arbor Shrooms delivers ‘magic’ mushrooms across Ann Arbor. However, police aren’t sure whether the practice is legal.

Ann Arbor has decriminalized magic mushrooms, but that doesn’t mean every business isn’t a trip. Ann Arbor police are currently investigating the validity of Arbor Shrooms business to see if it is in compliance with the law.

The city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County have taken recent measures to loosen restrictions on psilocybin mushrooms. However, police are investigating if the services provided by Arbor Shrooms are legal.

Arbor Shrooms is a delivery service that features a variety of psychedelic mushrooms. The website starts at $20 per gram and describes trip levels as being anywhere from “microdose” to “total loss.”

Under state and federal law, psychedelic mushrooms such as ayahuasca, ibogaine, mescaline, peyote, psilocybin mushrooms, and other hallucinogenic compounds are still illegal. But the push to decriminalize the substance has created a bit of gray area. In September 2020, Ann Arbor voted to decriminalize the use and possession of magic mushrooms and psychedelics. They declared it the city’s lowest law enforcement priority to investigate and arrest anyone for entheogenic plants and fungi.

However, the city’s legislation states that it does not authorize or enable “commercial sales or manufacturing of these plants and fungi, possessing or distributing these materials in schools, driving under the influence of these materials, or public disturbance.”

Because of Arbor Shrooms’ practice of delivering these items and providing an online platform for people to purchase them, the police think the delivery service may be breaking city regulations. 

Arbor Shrooms maintains it’s not a business, however. Online records indicate that it’s not registered with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Arbor Shrooms takes the stance that they’re not a company, but rather a community. Their sole focus is on the medicine and treating the product with respect. Instead of numerous businesses competing, they want to create something more along the lines of a farmers market online. They are founded as a nonprofit and hope to help community members who suffer from PTSD.

Additionally, Arbor Shrooms states that they are an existing psychedelic community that is connecting with patients in need. Unfortunately, some patients don’t have the means to obtain the product. Arbor Shrooms works to serve those in our community who lack transportation, are in need of the product and aren’t in a position to grow their own medicine.

“Nature is not against the law, many of these sacred mushrooms are found growing naturally in and around the Huron River watershed. People have an inalienable right to access natural medicine to heal themselves, their families, and their communities! We are developing a safer way to do this,” says 

Arbor Shrooms was founded by an unnamed Ann Arbor woman who is a mother of two and survivor of domestic abuse. She began farming mushrooms to treat her post-traumatic stress disorder. She decided she wanted to help others facing similar health conditions. She ended up meeting “like-minded farmers” and mycologists and, from there, decided she wanted to connect qualified farmers with those in need. She started Arbor Shrooms, which uses delivery drivers from Ann Arbor’s veteran community. The drivers work for a delivery charge and gratuity.

It is unclear what will happen at this time. As the investigation continues, Current Magazine will work to keep everyone informed!

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