"We are the world's largest entheogenic church, providing cannabis, mushrooms, and DMT as sacrament for people," Church of Ambrosia pastor Dave Hodges said yesterday. "We're the first and the biggest."
Hodges was holding a press conference to announce that Zide Door—the San Francisco location of the psychedelic church—will be shutting its doors due to what he claims is "harassment from the City Planning Department." The Oakland location, which predated the San Francisco spot, will remain open. (Coincidentally, the press conference was just a day before today's New York Times report that CEOs are tripping balls, more evidence of the mainstreaming of psychedelics.)
A Church of Ambrosia press release stated that "San Francisco Planning Department officials have targeted the SF location with mandates for structural upgrades, many of which were not required before the church opened 20 months ago."
From the SF Standard:
…Permitting costs, attorneys fees, and other expenses siphoned funds away from the organization's work, Hodges said, leaving no alternative but to close.
"The city has made it difficult to exist for a long time," he said, stating that smashed windows have always been repaired, and boards were installed to prevent further breakage. "The city says that's not a solution, and we have to spend hundreds of thousands to fix it."[…]
The Planning Department disputed Hodges' account. "This establishment opened for business without seeking any necessary permits," chief of staff Dan Sider said in an email. "City agencies have been working with Pastor Hodges' representatives since the spring to help them legalize. Part of this requires compliance with the Building Code, which we believe is the source of the Pastor's concerns about 'structural upgrades.'"
The church states that if the city's tolerance shifts, they would consider re-opening Zide Door at a different San Francisco location.
But right now, Hodges comments, "the signs of the universe are saying, 'Get out of SF as soon as possible.'"
Previously:
• Election day pledge gets you free magic mushrooms from this psychedelic church
• Oakland's magic mushroom church is opening a new chapel in San Francisco
