Psychedelic Church Files Police Raid Lawsuit

A California church that distributes cannabis and psychedelic drugs for sacramental purposes has filed a lawsuit against the city of Oakland and its police department, alleging that a 2020 raid violated federal protections for religious freedom.

The lawsuit was filed by the Zide Door Church against the city and the police. The facility serves as the Oakland house of worship for the Church of Ambrosia, “a non-denominational, interfaith religious organization that supports the use of and safe access” to certain natural psychedelic drugs known as entheogenic plants and mushrooms, according to the group’s website . A minister wearing a robe decorated with cannabis leaves leads the church’s services, where members are allowed to smoke cannabis as a sacrament and a way to connect with a higher power.

To join the church, prospective members must complete an online questionnaire asking if the applicant is a member of law enforcement and if they accept cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms as “part of your religion.” Once inducted into the church, members can pay a monthly membership fee of $5 which allows them to obtain cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms in exchange for a donation to the church.

Before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the church held services at 4:20 a.m. on Sundays, during which founder Dave Hodges distributed joints. The church opened in early 2019 and today has 60,000 total members, according to Hodges. Up to 200 come every day to get cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms.

Cannabis has been legal for adults in California since 2016, and in 2019 Oakland city leaders voted to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms and other entheogenic plants and fungi, although sale is not permitted.

Lawsuit for raid 2020

In August 2020, officers from the Oakland Police Department raided the Zide Door Church. Police officers entered the church and confiscated about $200,000 in cannabis, mushrooms and cash. Police claimed the facility was an unlicensed pharmacy rather than a legitimate place of worship. No charges were filed in the case, but the cash and drugs seized by police during the raid were not returned to the church.

An affidavit filed with a search warrant served during the raid says the city received a complaint that Zide Door Church was operating as an unlicensed cannabis dispensary in May 2019. Two months later, an undercover police officer visited the church to become a member and then exchanged cash for cannabis. Only days later, the church was searched by the police. Hodges was fined and cautioned but no one was taken into custody.

After the raid, critics were skeptical that the church was a legitimate place of worship, claiming that it was instead a front for drug sales. But Hodges insists that is not the case.

The lawsuit filed against the city and police argues that the raid and seizure violated constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. In the lawsuit, the church describes the “sacramental use” of cannabis, psilocybin and other natural psychedelic drugs as a way to connect with “a higher consciousness, their own eternal souls, spiritual beings and God.” However, the consumption of psilocybin mushrooms is not permitted on the premises.

“It’s not just an excuse to sell drugs,” Hodges told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is what we really believe is the origin of all religion and what religion really should be.”

The lawsuit argues that the raid violated the church’s “sincere worship,” which violates federal law, as well as the church’s right to free worship under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The Oakland Police Department did not comment on the lawsuit when asked by the Washington Post. Prosecutor Barbara Parker told reporters the city hasn’t yet been served with the lawsuit, but declined to comment further.

Jesse Coper, a legal expert at the University of California, Berkeley, said the church’s argument for religious freedom could prevail if the lawsuit goes to trial.

“If it’s not a bogus deal,” he said, “I’d say the smokers have a pretty good case.”

But Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California’s Berkeley School of Law, said the church is unlikely to succeed in its defense that religious freedom exempts it from state drug laws.

“The general rule is that there are no exceptions to laws for religious beliefs,” he said. “Assuming that California law applies to everyone and has no discretion to make exceptions, then there is no basis for challenging it on the basis of religion.”