Ybor City has made a remarkable step forward in being the first city in the United States to have a medicinal dispensary that sells legal mushrooms. Carlos Hermida is originally from Miami, Florida and now lives in Tampa, Florida and owns the Chillum CBD Dispensary located at 1714 E 7th Ave in Ybor City.

  Chillum offers a variety of legal hemp products, functional glass art and cannabinoids including CBD, CBG and Delta-8 THC. Chillum offers several cannabinoid products in the form of cartridges, disposable vapes, edibles, flower, CBD oil, and topical lotions. Chillum offers cartridge and disposable vape products ranging between $30 and $50 each, edible prices ranging between $35-$70 for various bottle sizes, flower ranging between $35-$190 depending on the strain and weight, CBD oils ranging from $33-$260 depending on the number of milligrams, and the topical lotion ranging between $55-$94 depending on the number of milligrams.

  The product that sets Chillum apart from other dispensaries in the United States, is that aside from cannabinoid products, they also sell legalized mushrooms. Chillum offers functional mushrooms and magic mushrooms offered in various forms including gummies, capsules, edibles, and joints. Chillum also offers “grow kits’, which are kits used to grow your own mushrooms that include everything you need to successfully grow them. Psylocibin mushrooms are a schedule 1 drug in the United States, meaning they are a drug with no accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse. However, what makes these mushrooms legal is that they do not contain any psylocibin. Instead, these are Amanita Muscaria mushroom products with the active ingredient being muscimol, muscarine and ibotenic acid, which are all legal in the United States and have been used in indigenous cultures for thousands of years and are currently under research for medicinal use by the FDA.

  Hermida aims to reach an audience of people interested in the mental health benefits that mushrooms offer. He states “Essentially, cannabinoids and mushrooms are going to revolutionize the health care industry and we are in the beginning stages of that. I think we’re trying to target people who are tired of the health care industry and looking for alternatives.” Hermida has a mission to educate his community and beat the sigma that society has put onto these types of products, as well as the misinformation that is often spread about the damage they cause. He also requires his employees to go through proper training and pass an 80-question test in order to understand the science behind cannabinoids and mushrooms to be able to properly sell to and educate their community.

  Hermida mentions that Chillum needed to jump through a small legal hurdle to get this shop off the ground. He states “We were trying to avoid a situation where we had to explain it to cops. We had attorneys that reached out to the city for us, and the local police department is really good. They have what’s called business liaison officers and they’re basically shop cops. Their purpose is to reach out to the businesses in this area and make sure they feel safe.” Hermida also mentions that over time, he has developed friendly relationships with the cops and enjoys talking with them when they come to visit. “Sometimes they enjoy seeing the customer’s face when they walk in and there’s a cop here. But then the officer is normally like “Hey, it’s okay we’re just friends here.”

  However, on March 23, Chillum posted a blog that indicated the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shut down the sale of all products containing Amanita Muscaria mushrooms. So, for now, the mushroom euphoria is suspended indefinitely.