Magic Mushroom 'Church' Forced to Shut Down Over City Disputes

Imagine if, during a service at your church or place of worship, you were handed a tablet of LSD with the assurance that taking it would bring you closer to spiritual enlightenment.

Naturally, such a move would raise more than a few eyebrows. And yet such behavior, which some may consider drug-pushing, has been at the heart of San Francisco’s Church of Ambrosia. Over the course of its brief history, the Church of Ambrosia has courted obvious controversy for promoting psilocybin mushrooms and cannabis as religious sacraments.

But now, it appears the Church of Ambrosia will be permanently closing its doors in San Fran. What happened to this distinct and distinctly divisive institution?

A Church Like No Other

Founded in Oakland in 2019 by Pastor Dave Hodges, the Church of Ambrosia built its beliefs around the use of entheogenic plants - psychedelics like magic mushrooms - as tools for spiritual connection. According to Hodges, the substances are sacred and help individuals access deeper layers of self-awareness and enlightenment. By 2023, the church had expanded to a vacant property on Howard Street in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, quickly drawing in thousands of members seeking alternative spiritual practices. Membership was straightforward: Adults paid a $5 fee, affirmed their acceptance of psychedelic sacraments, and gained access to cannabis, psilocybin, and other products the church distributed as “sacraments,” as reported by SFGATE.

The church claims to have grown to over 115,000 members, solidifying its place as one of the largest psychedelic churches in the U.S. However, its approach - essentially selling psychedelics to members - has stirred controversy. Critics argued that the organization blurred the line between a legitimate religious institution and an illegal dispensary.

Safety Violations and City Battles

The closure comes amid ongoing disputes between the church and San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection. Officials cited several building code violations, including unpermitted work, plumbing issues, electrical wiring problems, and emergency exit signage concerns.

Hodges claims the church has already invested over $150,000 to address these issues, including replacing a second floor sliding glass door that inspectors deemed a safety risk. Still, the city required further upgrades, including removing boards from the building’s ground-floor windows, which were placed there after repeated break-ins. Replacing the boarded windows with permanent security shutters, as the city requested, would cost over $200,000 - an expense Hodges says the church cannot afford.

San Francisco officials maintain that their demands are reasonable and necessary to ensure public safety. Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, stated that all buildings must comply with minimum safety standards. He added that no structural upgrades were required, and the church was actively working to resolve its outstanding citations.

Hodges, however, alleges that the church has been unfairly targeted. He accuses the city’s planning department of religious discrimination, pointing to comments made by officials suggesting members were actively using psilocybin mushrooms onsite - an allegation Hodges denies. Hodges told SFGATE, the city was just “not comfortable with us.”

The Cost of Operating in San Francisco

The church’s struggles highlight broader issues with San Francisco’s business environment. Hodges argues that excessive regulations and high operating costs make it nearly impossible for unconventional organizations to survive. “It’s crazy what the city’s planning department is doing,” Hodges told SFGATE, blaming crime rates and expensive requirements for the church’s inability to continue operations. “If it wasn’t for the high crime area and if the city was a safe place to be, having large glass windows at street level wouldn’t be a problem.”

The city, for its part, defends its efforts to streamline business operations. Jeff Cretan, a spokesperson for Mayor London Breed, affirms that San Francisco has made significant changes to reduce red tape for small businesses, including building code reforms and fee reductions.

“These are the most dramatic changes to small business approvals that have happened in years, and our departments have been implementing them diligently,” Cretan said in an email to SFGATE.

What Happens Next?

For now, the Church of Ambrosia will continue its operations at its original location in Oakland, where Hodges says members can still access their sacraments.

As San Francisco prepares to bid farewell to its most prominent psychedelic church, the debate over entheogenic practices and religious freedom continues. Supporters view the closure as a loss for spiritual exploration, while skeptics argue it highlights the complexities of regulating organizations operating in legal gray areas.

Hodges has not ruled out a return to San Francisco but insists conditions must change. “The signs of the universe are saying, ‘Get out of SF as soon as possible,’” he stated in a press release announcing the closure, as reported by KQED.

The Church of Ambrosia’s closure underscores a collision between unconventional spirituality and traditional bureaucracy. Whether seen as a sanctuary for spiritual seekers or a dispensary operating under the guise of religion, its departure raises questions about San Francisco’s ability to accommodate diverse, evolving cultural movements while upholding legal and safety standards.

References: ‘Huge setback’: SF’s massive psychedelic church is leaving the city | This San Francisco church has 115K members yet might be illegal | World’s largest “psychedelic church” to shut down San Francisco location | San Francisco Mushroom Church Will Close, Alleging It Was Targeted by City | Inside the Megachurch Where Shrooms and Weed Are Religion