TAMPA, Fla. — An Ybor City hemp dispensary is adding something new to the product line and the company says it's legal.
Chillum in Florida's historic Ybor City has added mushroom products to its store including grow kits, spores and mycology cultures. That's not all, the store will also have functional mushrooms and magic mushrooms, the dispensary said in a news release.
"The catch is these magic mushrooms are legal by federal law, cause these mushrooms don’t contain psilocybin but chemicals that are legal and surprisingly similar," Chillum said.
The store will not have any products that contain illegal chemicals or controlled substances, but instead different products that promote the study of mycology.
Chillum Mushroom and Hemp Dispensary owner and entrepreneur Carlos Hermida is an activist in the cannabis and hemp movement. He's also the co-founder and deputy director of the Tampa Bay area chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws or Suncoast NORML.
“I was heavily involved in the cannabis and hemp movement in Tampa Bay and across Florida and I see psychedelics and mushrooms in particular as the next big step toward freedom,” Carlos Hermida said.
Now that Chillum is adding mushroom products to its dispensary, Hermida is advocating for change with psilocybin, the company said.
"Psilocybin is still illegal, but the study of mycology is very legal as long as there is no psilocybin present,” Hermida explained. "That is why we sell mycelium for psilocybin mushrooms. It is our hope that in promoting the study of psilocybin will promote the legalization or all magic mushrooms."
Chillum is located on East 7th Avenue in Tampa. In addition to hemp products, mushroom products now at the dispensary will include functional mushrooms, Lions Mane and Reishi mushrooms, grow kits, mycology products and Amanita Muscaria mushrooms, a legal magic mushroom, the dispensary says.
