What happens when a mushroom dispensary is raided?
A raid usually ends with the shop padlocked or shut, the people selling arrested or charged, and sometimes the building owner pulled in as well. This page sets out what the law says for owners, staff, landlords and customers, and what the 46 enforcement records in our register show actually happened afterward.
From our sister shop, My Mushroom Dispensary. Adults 21+ only.
What happens when a mushroom dispensary is raided?
Police arrive with a search warrant, seize the products, cash and often business records, and arrest or cite the people they believe were selling. In Washington, DC and New York, regulators padlock or seal the door as part of the same action; elsewhere the slower steps follow: criminal charges, civil closure and nuisance cases, and in some cases a plea or a consent agreement.
No state licenses a walk-in psilocybin store, so a "mushroom dispensary" has no license to show when police arrive. Psilocybin is a Schedule I drug under federal law, and selling it in any amount is a federal felony.1 Our dispensary register holds 24 raid records in nine states and DC, part of 46 enforcement records from 2020 through October 2026.
What does the register show after a raid?
The pattern across the 139 records, counted as of November 2, 2026, is fast closure and slow, often unreported, court outcomes. In 17 of the 24 raid records, police reported arrests, detentions or charges; in the other 7, none were reported. Five records begin with undercover purchases by officers, as in Miami in March 2026 (fl-2026-01) and at a DC shop that called itself a church (dc-2025-05).
| Pattern | Records | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront padlocked or sealed | 11 (8 in DC, 2 in New York, 1 in Detroit) | DC mushroom shop, 2025 (dc-2025-04) |
| Warning or cease-and-desist letter | 9 (7 in Colorado, 2 in DC) | Colorado letter, 2024 (co-2024-03) |
| Nuisance action | 3 (DC and Detroit) | Detroit suit against a "church" (mi-2023-05) |
| Consent agreement instead of charges | 2 records, one Detroit shop | Owner admitted illegal sales (mi-2025-01) |
| Conviction or plea | 2 | Portland manager's plea, 2022 (or-2022-04) |
| Outcome, or part of it, not found or not yet reported | 12 of 49 enforcement and court records | San Francisco case, 2022 (ca-2022-04) |
The tools differ by place. DC uses civil closure orders from its cannabis regulator plus police warrants. Detroit used warrants, building-code closures and nuisance suits rather than criminal charges. New York used criminal charges and its cannabis padlock programs. Colorado's regulators send cease-and-desist letters,2 and a 2026 law lets the state's Natural Medicine Division director issue cease-and-desist orders (co-2026-02).3
What happens to the owner?
Owners face the heaviest exposure. Federal law makes selling or holding psilocybin to sell a felony at any amount, and a separate offense covers maintaining a place for drug sales.14 In the register, the charges come from state prosecutors: three felony counts in San Francisco in 2022, including maintaining a place for selling psilocybin (ca-2022-04); Class D felony sale and possession counts in Putnam County, New York, in 2024 (ny-2024-01); and grand jury indictments of the owner and manager of Portland's Shroom House on 40 felony counts each in 2022 (or-2022-03).
| Law | What it covers | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C) | Selling or distributing psilocybin, or holding it to sell, in any amount | Up to 20 years in prison; a fine of up to $1,000,000 for a person or $5,000,000 for a business |
| 21 U.S.C. 856 | Opening, leasing, renting, using or keeping a place for drug sales, or, as owner, lessee, agent, employee, occupant or mortgagee, knowingly making a place available for them | Up to 20 years; a fine of up to $500,000 for a person or $2,000,000 for a business |
| 21 U.S.C. 844(a) | Possession, which is the buyer's offense | First offense: up to 1 year and a minimum fine of $1,000 |
Civil action hits the business itself. DC padlocks shops under the city's 2024 closure powers, and in Detroit the city closed a building and sued for nuisance abatement (mi-2023-04).5 A second Detroit owner avoided charges by signing a consent agreement that admitted the sales were illegal, waived the right to sue and allowed random inspections, and the property was listed for sale within weeks (mi-2025-01).6 Defenses based on local decriminalization or religion have not held up in the record; the page on the legal claims shops make covers each one.
What happens to staff?
Staff are often the ones in handcuffs, because they are the ones handing over the product. Federal law makes it a crime for anyone to distribute a controlled substance, not just the owner, and the premises law names employees among the people who can be charged for knowingly making a place available for drug sales.4 The register shows two people arrested at a DC shop in 2024 (dc-2024-04), two workers arrested at a Bronx store, as FOX 5 reported (ny-2024-02), four people arrested or cited at Shroom House (or-2022-02) and nine arrested at four Rosamond dispensaries in 2026 (ca-2026-01).
The Portland case shows how it can end. The shop's manager pleaded guilty to three felonies (money laundering, drug sales and drug sales near a school), and 37 other counts were dropped; prosecutors recommended jail time, community service and three years of probation.7
What happens to the landlord?
A landlord who knowingly rents space for drug sales is exposed under the same federal premises law, 21 U.S.C. 856, which covers anyone who "knowingly" leases, rents or maintains a place for that purpose.4 Local regulators go after the property too. DC's ABC Board directed its July 2024 cease-and-desist order at the shop, its owner and the landlord entity, and treated the shop as a public nuisance (dc-2024-02).8 When the DC Council passed emergency legislation in March 2025, one stated purpose was letting regulators give notice to the property owner when a shop's operator had left (dc-2025-02).9
Detroit's tools act on the building itself: a notice of building closure, citations for unlawful use of property and a suit to abate a nuisance (mi-2023-04, mi-2024-02, mi-2023-05). None of the 139 records shows a landlord charged with a crime, but the civil orders reach them.
What happens to customers?
Buying from a storefront is never a defense. Possessing psilocybin is a federal crime everywhere in the US, and a crime under state law in most states; a city's lowest-priority measure changes police priorities, not the law.10 None of the 139 records describes charges against a shop's customers. That is not a promise: officers have posed as customers before raids, and police seized business records at Shroom House (or-2022-02).
| Place | Possession of psilocybin | Does local decriminalization change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | Misdemeanor, up to 180 days11 | No. Initiative 81 covers only non-commercial conduct |
| California | Generally a misdemeanor, up to one year in county jail; selling is a felony12 | No. City resolutions set police priorities only |
| Colorado | Legal under state law for adults 21+ for personal use; selling is not covered13 | Buying from a shop is taking part in an illegal sale; federal law still applies |
| Michigan | Misdemeanor, up to 1 year, a fine of up to $2,000, or both14 | No. City resolutions change local enforcement only |
| New York | At least a Class A misdemeanor (seventh-degree possession); larger amounts can be felonies1516 | No local measure found |
| Oregon | Drug enforcement misdemeanor for small amounts since September 1, 2024, and more serious charges for larger amounts, outside a licensed service center17 | No. Only the licensed program is exempt |
There is also the question of what you bought. A 2025 study of 12 "magic mushroom" edibles from Portland shops found psilocybin in none of them, and 8 held ingredients that were not on the label;18 our page on what testing found in shop gummies has the details. If someone is unwell after taking a shop product, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911 in an emergency; get help lists more lines. If you are charged with anything, talk to a criminal defense lawyer licensed in your state. Nothing here is legal advice.
Questions people ask
Can I get in trouble for buying from a shop that was raided?
Yes, in principle. Possession is a federal crime and a state crime in most places, and buying is not a defense. No record in our register shows customers being charged, but undercover officers have posed as customers, and police have seized business records.
Does a city's decriminalization measure stop a raid?
No. Local measures set police priorities for personal use, and most say in their text or coverage that sales are not covered. DC, Detroit and Oakland all raided storefronts after their measures passed.
Can a landlord be charged for renting to a mushroom shop?
Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly lease or rent a place for drug sales, with up to 20 years in prison. In the register, landlords have faced civil orders rather than charges: DC named a landlord entity in a cease-and-desist order.
Do employees get charged, or only owners?
Both. Workers who hand over the product are distributing it under the law. The register shows workers and managers arrested in DC, New York, Portland and Rosamond, and a Portland shop manager pleaded guilty to three felonies.
Sources
- 21 U.S. Code 841, Prohibited acts A, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2, 2026.
- Unlicensed and Unlawful Activities, Colorado Natural Medicine Division, accessed November 2, 2026.
- HB 26-1325 Final Fiscal Note, Colorado Legislative Council Staff, July 9, 2026.
- 21 U.S. Code 856, Maintaining drug-involved premises, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2, 2026.
- Detroit psychedelic church moves to take case to federal court, Detroit Metro Times, December 2023.
- Psychedelic Healing Shack goes up for sale, owner sick of conflict with Detroit officials, Mugglehead, April 26, 2025.
- Shroom House manager pleads guilty to three felonies, Willamette Week, December 21, 2022.
- Order to Cease and Desist, Case No. 24-ULC-000012, Order No. 2024-546, D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, July 31, 2024.
- Request to agendize Unlicensed Establishment Enforcement Clarification emergency measures, Council of the District of Columbia, February 27, 2025.
- 21 U.S. Code 844, Penalties for simple possession, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed November 2, 2026.
- D.C. Code 48-904.01, Prohibited acts A; penalties, Council of the District of Columbia, accessed November 2, 2026.
- Fiscal analysis of a proposed psilocybin initiative (A.G. File No. 23-0004), California Legislative Analyst's Office, June 29, 2023.
- C.R.S. 18-18-434, Offenses relating to natural medicine and natural medicine product, Colorado Revised Statutes (Public.Law), accessed November 2, 2026.
- MCL 333.7403, Possession of controlled substance, Michigan Legislature, accessed November 2, 2026.
- Penal Law 220.03, Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, New York State Senate, accessed November 2, 2026.
- Penal Law 220.09, Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, New York State Senate, accessed November 2, 2026.
- HB 4002 (2024), enrolled, Oregon Legislature, 2024.
- van Breemen RB et al., "Active Constituents of Psilocybin Mushroom Edibles," JAMA Network Open 2025;8(9):e2531345, JAMA Network, September 11, 2025.
Keep reading
The US mushroom dispensary register: raids, closures and local laws since 2019139 dated, sourced records of raids, padlocks, court cases and local laws since 2019, free to reuse.
Seven legal claims mushroom dispensaries make, and what courts saidDecriminalized, gift, church, membership, Amanita, spores, licensed: each claim against the statute and the rulings.
What's actually in the mushroom gummies sold in shops?Lab tests of shop gummies and chocolates, the 2024 outbreak, Amanita warnings and how to read a lab report.
Kept by the Dispensary Register editors. Facts on this page link to the sources they come from. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll correct it in the open, as our editorial standards describe. Psychedelic Mushroom Dispensary is a reference site, not a store. It is published by the people who run My Mushroom Dispensary, an online shop. We sell no advertising and nothing on this site.