U of M lab normalizes drug use on campus

Elijah Zeewe, staff

The University of Manitoba department of plant science’s psychedelic “shrooms” lab is the longest running research facility at the Fort Garry campus.

Through voluntary participation and group sessions, the lab has pioneered the re-invention of drug consumption across university campuses in Canada, hosting designated sessions for faculty and staff.

The Shrooms lab explores the innovative recreational uses of psilocybin a naturally occurring compound found in magic mushrooms.

“Our activities are purely for recreational purposes and are not intended to inform potential scientific research legally conducted in the future,” said Calvin Dogg, U of M plant science pro- fessor and director of the Shrooms lab.

The lab opens Monday to Friday at 4:20 p.m., and offers magic mushrooms and LSD to selected members of the U of M community.

The screening process is relatively straightforward a maximum GPA of 0.5 is required for all student applicants and these individuals must own lab coats. Additionally, the facility favours quarter and mid-life crisis-stricken applicants.

“We encourage our applicants to come as they are, preferably with a welltailored lab coat, and experience the secrets of the universe,” Dogg said.

To Dogg, the fundamental goal of the facility is to offer a relaxed and supportive space to explore the depths of one’s mind and the world around us.

Activities of the Shrooms lab include open-eye meditation, manual breathing exercises, marathon crying, Taylor Swift dance parties and Peppa Pig bingewatch sessions.

Past and present members of the Shrooms lab attest to having “otherworldly” visuals and auditory experiences at the facility.

A student member of the Shrooms lab, Snoop Junior, described his time at the facility as “the most profound experience of [his] life.”

“It’s the trippiest thing ever,” Junior said. “But reality is what’s trippy. We all just woke up on this floating rock in unquantifiable space one day and decided it’s the norm, but goddammit it’s a beautiful rock, isn’t it?”

Although the possession and distribution of magic mushrooms remains illegal in Canada, Dogg faces very minimal challenges in sustaining the research facility throughout the academic year.

“I know a guy,” he said, with a wide grin.