San Francisco psychedelic church says it's closing after alleged harassment from city officials

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Walk into Zide Door Church in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, and it's clear this church is unlike many others.

Zide Door is a part of the so-called Church of Ambrosia--the largest psychedelic church in the country.

Its leader, Pastor Dave Hodges, says it sells an array of different mushrooms and other products to its 120,000 members.

"To us, these tools are access to your soul. The one who has the real answers is actually you. It's just a matter of getting you to that place in the safest way possible," he said.

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But Hodges says the last few weeks of 2024 are set to be Zide Door's last in San Francisco thanks to two main problems: The first is the persistent crime and drug use outside the church's doors. The second, he says, is what he calls the harassment of his organization by the city's planning department.

"I really do feel like it's because of what we're doing here. Again, the building didn't have any problems until we moved in. Multiple businesses have been in this building. They even permitted a delivery service," Hodges said.

Hodges tells ABC7 News that over the past few months, his church has had repeated issues with city building and planning officials who have told him he needs to make numerous changes to the organization's physical building. But he believes it's what his religion entails that is the real reason he's being forced to make changes.

Zide Door says its closure will impact more people than just its members though.

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Hodges says the organization also helps many people who live right in their community.

"We've had members drop off clothing and provided it to people right outside the door. There've been multiple times where we've had to call an ambulance or even administer Narcan to somebody," Hodges said.

Hodges says while the church's SF location will close by the end of the year, it will still be able to serve its members through the church's Oakland location. And he hopes one day it'll, once again, be able to operate in the city.

"We would love to come back to this building. We've put a lot into it, and it feels like an appropriate home for us," Hodges said.

We did reach out to the SF Planning Department for comment, but it did not get back to us by our deadline.