The Psychedelic Healing Shack in Detroit has been closed since police with guns drawn raided the building along Woodward in September, seizing 99 grams of psilocybin mushrooms and 10 grams of marijuana. But the defiant owner, Robert Pizzimenti, better known as Dr. Bob, is determined to reopen, despite facing threats from the city.
“It’s our religious freedom to have these psychedelics,” Pizzimenti tells Metro Times. “Drugs are something you manipulate in a laboratory, not something you pick from nature that has medicinal benefits.”
In a statement to Metro Times, the city’s corporation counsel, Conrad Mallett Jr., said the city is not messing around.
“It is against the law to sell marijuana without a license,” Mallett said. “It is against the law to sell psychedelic mushrooms. Like others before him Mr. Pizzimenti is trying to hide behind the church and mask his criminal behavior. The City of Detroit has confronted others making similar claims. In each case the city of Detroit was able to prove behavior was illegal. If Mr. Pizzimenti persists, he will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
The city alleges that an undercover Detroit cop bought shrooms from Pizzimenti on Sept. 11. A day later, DPD executed a search warrant and found the mushrooms and marijuana.
The city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department (BSEED) issued citations for “the unlawful use of property and an emergency closure of the business.”
Instead of seeking charges against Pizzimenti, who says he has a religious right to possess shrooms, the city threatened to permanently close the Psychedelic Healing Shack unless he signs a consent agreement that allows BSEED to conduct “random, unscheduled inspections” of his building.
Under the agreement, Pizzimenti must also admit he “illegally” sold weed and shrooms, and he would be required to “stop engaging in unlawful sales.”
If he continues selling the plants, the city will petition the Detroit Department of Appeals and Hearings to permanently revoke his business license.
Interestingly, the consent agreement includes a stipulation that Pizzimenti can’t file a lawsuit against the city for the raid or business closure.
Pizzimenti, a spiritual leader and former chiropractor who now considers himself “an unwinder,” says he has no plans to sign the agreement and will reopen soon.
Pizzimenti says all kinds of people, including cancer patients and people in their 90s, came to him for psilocybin mushrooms because of the plant’s healing effects.
“I see lives change with these mushrooms,” Pizzimenti says. “They’re non-addictive, and I wasn’t doing it for the money. I wouldn’t sell crack cocaine or heroin or any of those things. Sometimes we even gave the mushrooms away. It’s all about healing.”
To bolster his argument that the First Amendment, which guarantees the free exercise of religion, gives him the right to possess and pass out shrooms, Pizzimenti joined Sugarleaf Church, and the Psychedelic Healing Shack has become a branch.
Founded in 2014 by Reverend Heidi Grossman-Lepp in California, Sugarleaf Church is a non-denominational community that incorporates the use of entheogenic sacraments, specifically cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms, to enhance spiritual experiences. The church’s mission focuses on fostering spiritual growth, supporting community healing, and advocating for religious freedom.
“I’m not one to play games,” Pizzimenti says, “but now that they’ve come down on me, I’m gonna have to play a game and have people become a member of a church.”
Grossman-Lepp, who plans to soon open one of her churches in Brush Park in Detroit, is no stranger to the legal issues surrounding the use of cannabis and shrooms for spiritual purposes. In 2017, she was arrested on charges that included felony conspiracy, marijuana cultivation, and possession with intent to sell. These charges stemmed from law enforcement raids on multiple properties associated with her church, during which authorities seized over 1,500 cannabis plants, approximately five pounds of dried marijuana, $21,000 in cash, and eight firearms.
Throughout the legal process, Grossman-Lepp maintained that her activities were protected under religious freedom, asserting that the cultivation and use of cannabis were integral to the practices of her church.
The legal proceedings culminated in a trial in early 2019. After deliberation, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a hung jury. Prosecutors ultimately dismissed the case.
Grossman-Lepp says she has successfully defended 27 criminal cases, in part by citing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a 1993 law that prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion.
Churches argue that the sacramental use of entheogens is a central and sincere part of their religious practices, comparable to wine in Christian communion or peyote in Native American ceremonies.
They contend that prosecuting their use of psilocybin or cannabis substantially burdens their religious exercise and that there is no compelling reason to prohibit such use in a controlled, religious setting.
In a letter to BSEED on Nov. 25, Grossman-Lepp warned the city of a lawsuit if it continued to harass Pizzimenti.
“Robert Pizzimenti, as a member of Sugarleaf Church, should not be subjected to repeated raids, threats of prosecution, or controlled buys based on the same religious practices that have already been defended in the courts,” Grossman-Lepp wrote. “This protection extends to him and every other member of Sugarleaf Church, ensuring that their First Amendment rights are upheld without the threat of unjust legal retaliation.”
Grossman-Lepp also blasted the city for trying to get Pizzimenti to sign a consent agreement that “imposes an undue burden” on the spiritual leader.
“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. “These actions are not only unconstitutional but also unethical, presuming guilt without evidence of criminal conduct and creating a chilling effect on Robert Pizzimenti’s ability to practice his faith.”
Metro Times is awaiting a response from the city.
In the past few months, Grossman-Lepp says officials in Detroit and Hazel Park have raided other locations for allegedly selling mushrooms. No charges have been filed in those cases.
In both cities, mushrooms have been decriminalized.
“They are raiding with zero due process,” Grossman-Lepp tells Metro Times. “This is tyranny at its finest.”
In September 2023, Soul Tribes International Ministries — billed as Detroit’s first “psychedelic church” where psilocybin mushrooms are offered as a holy sacrament — was raided by DPD. The church filed a lawsuit against the city.
Grossman-Lepp says Detroit police have more important responsibilities than going after a spiritual center.
“By choosing to target the Healing Shack instead of addressing real and pervasive issues like the nearby crack houses and crime, the city’s actions are not only disappointing but legally questionable,” Grossman-Lepp wrote in her letter to the city. “This selective enforcement defies the public’s mandate and opens the city up to significant legal exposure by disregarding constitutionally protected religious freedoms.”
The city has not responded to her letter.