What do the terms “Golden Teacher,” “Albino Penis Envy,” and “Hillbilly” have in common?
They are all the names of mushrooms listed for sale on the website of an East Vancouver “herbal medicine store” that has recently found itself in dicey legal waters.
According to court documents, Steven Tachie, owner of the commercial business “The Shroom House” at 2869 Commercial Drive, is being called to court by his landlord, IBA Global Trade Group Ltd., for late rent payments, failure to maintain a valid business license, and, most recently, refusal to vacate the property.
IBA is seeking a court order for Tachie to leave the store and to allow police to assist bailiffs in enforcing the order.
Tachie signed a five-year lease with IBA, which began on Nov. 1, 2024 and was originally set to end on Oct. 31, 2029, with the permitted use of a “Retail Holistic Shop.”
The court documents allege that Tachie failed to meet his tenant obligations, namely, failing to pay rent on time throughout 2025 and 2026, and failing to pay rent entirely for August 2026.
Tachie also failed to maintain a valid City of Vancouver business license for The Shroom House, which, according to court documents, led to “municipal prosecution against IBA’s principal under city by-laws” that regulate business licensing in the city.
On Aug. 20, 2026, IBA issued a formal notice to terminate the lease agreement immediately and demand that Tachie vacate the property. A week later, IBA took possession of the property using private bailiffs (Accurate Effective Bailiffs Ltd.) and changed the locks.
However, according to court documents, the following day, Tachie “broke the newly installed locks, committed trespass, unlawfully re-entered the [property] and resumed unauthorized occupation without … legal right.”
In early September, Tachie deposited funds into IBA’s account “without solicitation,” which court documents note does “not constitute a waiver of default or renewal of tenancy.”
The City of Vancouver is pursuing legal prosecution against IBA as “a result of [Tachie’s] conduct.”
This does not seem to be the first time Tachie has run into legal trouble tied to his entrepreneurial endeavours.
In 2024, Tachie pleaded guilty to two counts each of money laundering and solicitation to deliver a controlled substance as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in Multnomah County, Oregon, in the United States.
Tachie had operated another “The Shroom House” storefront in Portland, Oregon, for roughly a month until police officers raided it on Dec. 8, 2022.
Local reporting from the time noted that “[Tachie] claimed to have no knowledge of illegal shroom sales at his store… he posted $150,000 in bail and was released from Jail.”
He was sentenced to five years' probation and agreed to forfeit nearly US$31,000 seized by Portland police officers during the raid.
The Portland-based Shroom House, which bore an identical logo to the business of the same name on Commercial Drive, was listed as “permanently closed” following the police raid.
While psychedelics like psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms, are still federally illegal in Canada, many cities across the country have seen an uptick in the opening of storefronts that sell the product.
Despite a lack of regulation for the distribution of psychedelics like psilocybin, criminal prosecution is still somewhat rare.
Vancity Lookout attempted to contact both Tachie and the lawyers representing IBA and did not hear back in time for publication.
