DC padlocks an unlicensed Northwest shop where police found mushroom edibles

What happened?

On Wednesday, October 28, 2026, DC's Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA), working with the Metropolitan Police Department, executed a Closure Order at an unlicensed cannabis retailer in Northwest DC and padlocked the storefront. ABCA found the shop's operations posed an "imminent danger to public health and safety." The agency announced the closure on October 30.¹

ABCA's list of seized items includes 2,275 grams of "mushroom edibles," 7.5 pounds of marijuana, 39,659.2 grams of THC edibles and 1,336 grams of THC vape cartridges, among other THC products.¹ The release does not say whether the mushroom edibles contained psilocybin, and no lab result has been published.

One person was arrested for distribution of a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute.¹ We don't name people in criminal cases, and we give no more than the neighborhood for any unlicensed seller.

As of its October 30, 2026 release, ABCA says 114 illegal cannabis businesses have been padlocked since its expanded civil enforcement powers took effect, and the release points to DC Law 25-216 as the source of those powers.¹ That count covers cannabis and mushroom shops combined; the agency does not publish a count of how many of them sold mushrooms.

Why does it matter if you're looking for a mushroom dispensary?

No DC license covers selling psilocybin, and a padlock is a civil action that can happen on top of any arrest. DC's Initiative 81 (2020) asks police to treat the "non-commercial" planting, purchasing, distributing and possession of entheogenic plants and fungi, psilocybin mushrooms included, by people 18 and older as among their lowest priorities. It says nothing that allows a shop to sell them.² In September 2025, DC's ABC Board went further: ruling on a storefront that presented itself as a church, it found Initiative 81 nonbinding and said it does not cover commercial sales.³ Our guide to the claims shops make walks through that "church" defense and the "gift" model.

The October closure fits a pattern in the record. ABCA padlocked shops selling psilocybin mushrooms in May 2025 and July 2025, and mushroom edibles turned up again in a June 2026 sweep. This closure is the register's record for October 28, 2026. For buyers, possession of a controlled substance remains a misdemeanor under the DC Code, Initiative 81 or not.⁴ Our DC guide covers the full picture, including what DC residents can legally do instead.

What happens next?

ABCA hasn't said whether the seized edibles will be tested, and its release gives no court date for the arrest. Separately, emergency legislation the Mayor signed on July 30, 2026, on medical cannabis licensing and unlicensed establishment enforcement, was set to run until October 28, 2026, according to ABCA.⁵ We have not confirmed whether the Council has passed a new version. ABCA announces each closure in a press release, and we add the ones involving mushrooms to the register's DC records.