PORTLAND, Oregon (KOIN) – Oregon police have arrested the apparent owner of the Shroom House, a Portland business, following allegations that the store illegally sold psilocybin, or magic mushrooms, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) confirmed.
The arrest comes just days after reports that the business was drawing long lines that stretched the length of the block.
Witness photos showed several Portland police vehicles parked outside the store early Thursday morning, when police say they served a search warrant.
Steven Tachie Jr., a man listed on property documents according to the Oregon Secretary of State, was booked into the Multnomah County Jail Thursday morning. He faces 10 felony charges of laundering monetary instruments and 10 felony charges of manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance.
PPB made three additional arrests, including a suspect facing the same charges as Tachie, and two others who received felony citations for the delivery of psilocybin.
Additionally, officials confirmed that more than $13,000 in cash was collected as evidence and 22.1 pounds of psilocybin was seized, including dried mushrooms and other edibles. PPB says the field of products tested presumptively positive for psilocybin, but a sample will be sent to the Oregon State Police crime lab for confirmation.
The store usually opens at 10 a.m., but the door remained locked and locked following the earlier raid. The store also appeared to be empty of merchandise that is normally on display.
“I didn’t expect this closure to happen for another few weeks,” said Wesley Mahan, the superintendent of the condominium building where Shroom House operated on the ground floor. “When the story broke, the parking lot disappeared overnight. The lines encircled the building for a block length and there were no parking spaces left.”
Several disappointed customers arrived Thursday morning to find the store closed and the shelves empty.
“It sucks that they were raided because it’s natural. I wanted to try and get some mushrooms,” said one visitor.
The sale of psilocybin mushrooms in Oregon is illegal.
Confusion over the legality of psilocybin may stem from the approval of Measure 109 in 2020, which effectively created a two-year development period during which Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) has worked to establish systems and processes for the licensing and regulation of psilocybin products and the provision of psilocybin services.
But in those cases, the use of psilocybin should be supervised by a licensed therapeutic professional. The state also doesn’t start accepting applications until next year, which means there are no licensed facilitators or service centers at this time.
Even though the Oregon Health Authority and police said psilocybin sales are illegal, people were still seen aligning out of the store earlier this week.
Those who bought magic mushrooms were allegedly asked for two forms of identification, raising concerns at the Better Business Bureau, which warned of possible identity theft and advised Shroom House clients to monitor their accounts.
Anyone with information is urged to email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov, ATTN: NOC and reference case number 22-324763.