Detroit Officials Close Psychedelic Church Raided in September

Detroit, Michigan officials last week closed the building that formerly housed the psychedelic religious institution Soul Tribes International Ministries, the Detroit Free Press reports. The church, which offered psilocybin mushrooms as a sacrament, was raided by police in September. 

Detroit Councilman James Tate shared an image of the padlocked door and a Notice of Building Closure dated October 18 on Facebook and thanked officials for helping to protect the neighborhood.   

Shaman Boby Shu told the Free Press that the move is a “total violation” of the church’s First Amendment rights and is “religious discrimination” and “religious redlining.” Following the September raid, Shu said police seized more than $700,000 in psilocybin mushrooms intended for therapeutic use and ordered the church’s closure.

Detroit voters in 2022 passed Proposal E, which decriminalized possession and therapeutic use of entheogenic plants and fungi but Mayor Mike Duggan’s office has indicated that “It is the law department’s position that this local ordinance, despite its intent, does not override state law, which considers psilocybin to be a controlled substance” and that “the city ordinance itself does not allow for the sale or distribution of psilocybin.”

Shu told the Free Press that he will continue to push to reopen the church.