ALRC subcommittee recommends revocation of Fusion Smoke and Spirits' liquor license after raid finds psilocybin and high‑THC products

The Alcohol License Review Committee subcommittee recommended revoking the liquor license for Fusion Smoke and Spirits (36 South Bassett St.) on April 9 after city investigators presented lab-confirmed evidence that agents seized kilograms of psilocybin and multiple THC products that tested above Wisconsin’s legal thresholds.

Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zillavy told the committee that the city had proven the complaint by a preponderance of the evidence and urged immediate revocation. "There is no gray area where the psilocybin is concerned," she said, pointing to crime‑lab confirmations and quantitative testing showing multiple samples exceeded acceptable delta‑9 THC limits.

The city called several witnesses. Special Agent Nicole Zotner of the Division of Alcohol Beverages testified that agents responding to complaints on Oct. 8, 2025, found the store open with a single clerk on duty, social‑media posts showing on‑site alcohol consumption beyond tasting allowances, and, in a back area described as the "High Roller Room," vacuum‑sealed bags that she suspected contained psilocybin. She said agents paused the alcohol inspection, secured the premises and contacted Madison police to pursue a criminal search warrant.

Detective Adam Knibler of the Dane County Narcotics Task Force described evidence seized under search warrants and identification of multiple controlled substances. He said a crime‑lab report identified psilocybin and psilocin in seized samples and that samples sent to a quantitative lab came back "greater than 5%" delta‑9 THC in multiple items — well above the 0.3% threshold that distinguishes hemp from illegal marijuana under current Wisconsin practice for enforcement purposes. Knibler also described cash and packaging consistent with distribution and said the total psilocybin seized was on the order of kilograms.

Jacob McRoberts, the licensee and owner of Fusion, testified that he purchased hemp products from a range of distributors and received certificates of analysis with deliveries; he denied knowingly selling illegal products or bringing psilocybin into the store. McRoberts acknowledged leaving the premises briefly for a pet emergency and that an employee without an operator’s license, Jerome Love Star, was working at the time Zotner first arrived.

Love Star testified that he worked in the store, that he had previously used a phone McRoberts lent to him in 2021, and that he had no knowledge of the provenance of the seized materials beyond small amounts found on his person at the time of questioning.

Defense counsel disputed the city’s characterization of the business as a drug nuisance and argued that purchased hemp can change over time, contesting the provenance or authenticity of some COAs (certificates of analysis) the licensee had. "There is literally 0 proof that he had knowingly possessed any hemp product that he did not buy from a distributor," defense counsel said in closing.

The committee then went into closed session to deliberate. In open session the subcommittee voted on several motions: it found by a preponderance that Fusion’s premises constituted a public nuisance and that a notice of public nuisance to the property owner was appropriate (each motion carried 2 ayes, 1 present). A motion that the licensee failed to have a licensed operator on site for an earlier listed date failed. The subcommittee then voted to recommend revocation of Fusion’s liquor license (motion carried 2 ayes, 1 present).

Next steps: the subcommittee will forward its recommendation to the full committee as part of the city’s disciplinary process. The subcommittee’s recommendation does not itself revoke the license; it is a formal finding and recommendation for further action by the licensing authority.

Key authorities cited during the hearing included Madison General Ordinance 38.10 and state nuisance and controlled‑substance statutes referenced by city counsel. The committee admitted exhibits 1–14 into the record, including photographs and laboratory reports used by the city to support its case.