Magic Mushroom Churches Popping Up Across San Francisco Leave City Officials Puzzled

Psilocybin mushrooms — commonly referred to as magic mushrooms — are available in some San Francisco churches, leaving city leaders unsure about how to handle the divide between religious freedom and illegal drugs. 

Zide’s Door and Living Church are using their parishes to sell the psychedelics, which are illegal under California and federal law. Dave Hodges, the leader of Zide’s Door, told SFGATE he’s relying on the Freedom of Religion section of the First Amendment to justify the use of magic mushrooms as he claims it’s a spiritual practice. 

“It’s the First Amendment [that protects us]. This is our access to God and our souls,” Hodges told SFGATE. 

This strategy worked for three other churches across the country that are now allowed to use psychedelics as part of their ceremonial practices. 

The two San Francisco churches’ use and sales of psilocybin comes after a Haight Street storefront was raided for reportedly selling the same drug last year. The owner was charged with three felonies, which are still pending in court. 

Psilocybin causes intense hallucinations and disorientation if taken in large quantities. It’s also been used in recent medical studies to treat and cure mental illnesses such as anorexia, the deadliest mental disorder, according to a 2020 study.

Lawmakers have portrayed differing stances on the legality of the drug, but progressive leaders have called for the decriminalization of the hallucinogen and even encouraged the use of the drug as conveyed in a Board of Supervisors 2022 resolution. 

Hodges told SFGATE he’s not betting on the resolution to keep his perish’s psychedelic practices afloat. He also said if law enforcement arrested him he would happily go to jail for protecting his right to use the mushrooms. 

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Fransico) also proposed a law that would legalize the cultivation, possession and use of magic mushrooms. 

The groups who may have the chance to stop the churches from selling and using the mushrooms are an unlikely bunch: building inspectors. 

The inspectors searched for evidence of the mushrooms in at least one of the church sites. The San Francisco Department of Building Inspections opened an investigation into Zide Door in early June of this year for an “unpermitted mushroom dispensary” according to SFGATE. While no evidence of any mushroom-related activity was found, the inspectors did issue a code violation for an improperly installed door.