There’s no cover for the Chillum Mushroom and Hemp Dispensary grand opening on Friday, Sept. 1, happening 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Credit: Photo c/o Carlos Hermida
Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is not onboard with amanita muscaria, a plant that hemp dispensary Chillum started promoting last year as a “legal ‘magic’ psychedelic mushroom.”

A stop sale was initially placed on Chillum’s Ybor shop before it started selling Amanita muscaria for “educational purposes,” but FDACS stopped the sale of that again this month. There is an appeals process, but owner Carlos Hermida says the road may be too costly for him.

“Honestly, it may be time for us to move on,” Hermida told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Still, he added, Chillum will stay true to its mission to promote alternative cultures, and continues the push this weekend when it hosts a grand opening for a St. Pete store by booking educational panels, drag shows, live music and even a blunt rolling competition that goes down at 5 p.m.

Hermida told CL that the event is still on and that his shop—located at 1916 Central Ave., Unit B. in St. Petersburg—should be open today.

There’s no cover for the Chillum Mushroom and Hemp Dispensary grand opening on Friday, Sept. 1, happening 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

This article appears in Aug 24-30, 2023.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...