In California, a church known for distributing magic mushrooms and cannabis has filed suit against the City of Oakland and its police department, pointing to a 2020 raid that led to the seizure of cash, marijuana, and psilocybin mushrooms as a violation of its constitutional religious freedoms.
The lawsuit comes from Zide Door Church, which operated in Oakland as a worship space for the Church of Ambrosia — described on the group’s own website as “a nondenominational, interfaith religious organization that supports the use and safe access” of certain natural and psychedelic drugs.
Joining is straightforward — prospective members fill out an application on the church’s website. The questionnaire asks whether applicants work in law enforcement and whether they’re willing to accept cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms as a “part of your religion.” Approved members pay $5 a month, framed as a donation in exchange for “religious sacraments.”
Church founder Dave Hodges held weekly services back in 2019, gathering members every Sunday at 4:20 to hand out joints. The pandemic changed that format, but the church kept growing regardless — membership now tops 60,000, with more than 200 people stopping by daily for cannabis and magic mushrooms.
Recreational cannabis has been legal in California since 2016. Oakland’s city council followed in 2019 by voting to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms along with other entheogenic plants and fungi — though selling them remains illegal.
The 2020 Raid at the Center of the Lawsuit
Oakland Police raided Zide Door Church in August 2020, walking away with roughly $200,000 in cannabis, cash, and magic mushrooms. Investigators reportedly viewed the church as functioning more like an unlicensed dispensary than a genuine place of worship. No charges were filed — only fines and warnings — but the seized property still hasn’t been returned.
Police say the raid followed tips that the church wasn’t a legitimate religious institution but a front for drug distribution. To investigate, the department sent an undercover officer to join as a member and buy cannabis. The raid followed within days.
Skepticism about the church’s legitimacy has followed it ever since, with critics continuing to characterize it as a drug-distribution front rather than a house of worship. Hodges maintains that characterization is wrong.
Hodges Pushes Back and Pursues Legal Recognition
By suing the city and its police department, Hodges is aiming to reshape how his church is perceived. He argues the raid and seizure violated his constitutional religious rights, describing the “sacramental use” of psychoactive and psychedelic substances — weed and fungi specifically — as a path toward “a higher consciousness, their own eternal souls, spiritual beings and God.” Even so, Hodges doesn’t allow consumption of these substances on church property.
“This is not just an excuse to sell drugs,” Hodges told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This is what we truly believe is the origin of all religion and really what religion should be.”
The lawsuit itself leans on the claim that Hodges’s “sincere exercise of religion” carries federal protection, alongside the church’s First Amendment right to freely exercise religion.
So far, neither Oakland nor its police department has commented publicly on the suit, with both saying they haven’t received any communication from Hodges or the church.
Legal Experts Split on the Church’s Odds
Opinions among legal scholars are mixed. Jessy Choper, a law expert at the University of California Berkeley, thinks the church could have a viable case, particularly if it reaches trial. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the same university’s Berkeley School of Law, takes the opposite view, arguing that state drug laws are likely to override any religious freedom claim.
“The general rule is that there is no exception to laws for religious beliefs,” he said. “Assuming that the California law applies to everyone and does not have discretion to grant exceptions, then there is not a basis for challenging it based on religion.”
Where the case ultimately lands will likely hinge on how those competing legal views hold up in court, but for now, Zide Door Church and its founder are pressing ahead with the fight.
