Two men were arrested for running an unlawful psychedelic mushroom storefront on West Burnside Street. They believed the business was legal, their attorneys said, but were ordered to surrender their passports.
Police arrested multiple people after serving a warrant at Shroom House, the store in question in downtown Portland. Shroom House accepted credit cards when it opened in late October, but by early December it was cash only. Customers were required to submit two forms of identification.
As the authorities began their investigation, they seized more than $13,000 in cash and 22 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms that tested positive for psilocybin. They found these suspicious items during their early Thursday morning raid.
Steven Tachie Jr., 32, has been identified as the alleged shop owner of the store where this drug-related business was taking place. The store on West Burnside Street was selling psychedelic mushrooms to customers.
Tachie claims that he had no knowledge of the illegal sales, the attorney said, because the store sold supplements that were like Vitamin C.
Police had been keeping tabs on the shop for a week, and bought over 30 grams of psilocybin mushrooms before confirming a need to bust the shop.
Steven Tachie Jr. was arrested on 10 felony counts of laundering of monetary instruments and 10 felony counts of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance. He faces the same charges as three other suspects that were also involved.
Despite the recent arrests, a law professor said it’s unlikely anyone would be charged under Oregon law.
State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, a Democrat from Portland, campaigned for the legalization of psilocybin in therapeutic settings. She said the new law is completely different from Measure 109.
However, there are some setbacks in implementing this new rule. Even though Oregon passed a law for legal administration of psilocybin in 2020, the first clinics won’t open until next year at the very earliest.