The Psychedelic Healing Shack in Detroit, a center promoting spiritual healing with psilocybin mushrooms, is embroiled in a legal battle with the city following a raid in September 2024. The establishment was shut down after an undercover officer allegedly purchased psilocybin mushrooms from owner Robert “Dr. Bob” Pizzimenti. As Metro Times reported, despite the closure, Pizzimenti remains defiant, arguing that the use of mushrooms is a fundamental part of his religious practice.
The City's Legal Response
In the wake of the raid, Detroit authorities are firm in their stance, threatening to permanently close the Psychedelic Healing Shack unless Pizzimenti agrees to a consent agreement. "It is against the law to sell marijuana without a license," said Conrad Mallett Jr., Detroit's corporation counsel. "It is against the law to sell psychedelic mushrooms." The city claims that Pizzimenti attempted to hide behind religious freedoms to justify illegal activities, a position the city has historically challenged in similar cases.
The raid resulted in the seizure of 99 grams of psilocybin mushrooms and 10 grams of marijuana. Despite the city's actions, Pizzimenti insists that his business, part of his religious practices, is protected under the First Amendment, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.
Defending Religious Freedom
Pizzimenti, a former chiropractor turned spiritual leader, has joined the Sugarleaf Church to bolster his legal defense. The church, founded in 2014, incorporates cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms as sacraments in its spiritual practices. Pizzimenti maintains that the mushrooms serve as a tool for healing, not recreation. “I see lives change with these mushrooms,” he says. "They're non-addictive, and I wasn't doing it for the money."
Dr. Bob's argument centers around his belief that the right to use psychedelics as part of religious practices should be protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He asserts that his actions are comparable to the use of wine in Christian communion or peyote in Native American ceremonies. "It's our religious freedom to have these psychedelics," he tells Metro Times.
Controversial Legal Battle
Sugarleaf Church founder, Reverend Heidi Grossman-Lepp, has long advocated for the religious use of entheogens. She was arrested for marijuana-related charges, but the case ended in a hung jury. Grossman-Lepp has since defended over 27 criminal cases, using religious freedom as a key argument. She warned the city of a lawsuit if they continue targeting Pizzimenti, claiming their actions infringe on constitutional rights.
"The city's threats to conduct additional raids and orchestrate controlled buys within the temple blatantly violate his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion without government interference," Grossman-Lepp wrote in a letter to the city.
Legal And Social Debate
The Psychedelic Healing Shack case has highlighted the ongoing debate over the religious use of psychedelics in the U.S. In cities like Detroit, where psilocybin mushrooms have been decriminalized, authorities continue to target locations allegedly selling the substance, though no charges have been filed in some cases. Grossman-Lepp argues that the city should focus on more pressing issues, such as local crime, rather than targeting spiritual centers.
"We are not selling drugs; we're offering healing," Pizzimenti concludes. His defiance signals that the battle over religious freedoms and psychedelic use is far from over in Detroit.
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