Nestled in the heart of America’s opioid crisis lies America’s largest psychedelic church, which rakes in $5 million a year by supplying illegal drugs to its members.
But the pastor, Dave Hodges, sees no problem setting up shop just a few blocks south of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, home to the country’s most notorious open-air drug market.
The computer nerd turned psychedelic preacher even believes that if there were more churches like his, where congregants get high on magic mushrooms and cannabis, there would be fewer opioid addicts knocking on his door and overdosing.
“The sacraments we use help people get off drugs,” he claims.
Hodges, 42, has built an extraordinary magic mushroom empire. Technically, he leads the largest megachurch in the US.
Pastor Dave Hodges of the Church of Ambrosia believes psychedelic worship can help alleviate the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco, where his facility is located
Members pay $10 to join and $5 to enter the church, which gives them access to church sacraments: cannabis, magic mushrooms and DMT, the active ingredient in Ayahuasca
A drug addict shoots up in San Francisco’s SoMa district, where Church of Ambrosia opened its second location last year
In five years, his Church of Ambrosia has amassed 106,000 members across two locations in Oakland and San Francisco.
That’s more than Life Church in Oklahoma, which has 85,000 members, and more than double the Lakewood Church in Texas, led by evangelist Joel Osteen.
Ambrosia members pay $10 to join and $5 to enter the church, which gives them access to church sacraments: cannabis, magic mushrooms and DMT, the active ingredient in Ayahuasca.
While marijuana is legal in California, psychedelics, including magic mushrooms and DMT, are not.
San Francisco passed an ordinance in 2022 that makes adult use of psilocybin — the active ingredient in magic mushrooms — a low priority for law enforcement, although it remains illegal in California.
But Hodges believes that taking these substances is a deeply spiritual – even religious – experience – which is why it is protected by law.
It’s all part of a global boom in people turning to hallucinogenic drugs in search of spiritual enlightenment, including NFL star Aaron Rodgers, actor Will Smith and Prince Harry.
It’s thought there are now somewhere between 200 and 2,000 psychedelic churches in the US, from states with liberal drug laws like California and Oregon, to staunchly conservative states like Utah and Alabama.
Hodges believes the ever-growing numbers, especially in areas flooded with fentanyl, could help alleviate America’s crippling opioid crisis.
In 2023, there were 806 overdose deaths in San Francisco, mostly due to fentanyl, breaking the previous record of 726 in 2020.
“There are many reasons why people become addicted to drugs, but some of the biggest factors are not understanding why they are here, what to do with their lives,” Hodges tells DailyMail.com.
“If you take our sacraments and do this deep work and get in touch with your soul, it can help you understand those things. Your soul did not come here to become addicted to fentanyl.”
Hodges, a 42-year-old former IT technician, is president of what is technically America’s largest megachurch, with Ambrosia attracting 106,000 members
The Church of Ambrosia’s original location in Oakland looks nondescript, but is guarded by 24-hour security that protects its significant supply of illegal drugs
The church opened its second location (above) on April 15 last year in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, just a few blocks from the fentanyl-ravaged Tenderloin neighborhood
There were 806 overdose deaths in San Francisco in 2023, mostly due to fentanyl, breaking the previous record of 726 in 2020
Psychedelics, including psilocybin, have been linked to the relief of opioid addiction.
However, the research is still in its early stages and a clinical trial is underway at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
But Hodges claims he has already seen anecdotal evidence of its effects. He says one of his members first used psychedelics to get off fentanyl before helping family members do the same.
The pastor emphasizes that Ambrosia Church is not run as a drug rehabilitation center – and that those struggling with addiction should seek professional help – but he has big plans to add this to its pastoral roles in the future.
It’s one of many big ideas he has in store, following explosive growth that surprised everyone, including Hodges himself.
The church opened its first location in Oakland five years ago, but members got a shot in the arm after an August 2020 raid in which police seized $200,000 worth of cannabis and mushrooms from the property.
Since the bankruptcies, the association has gained 70,000 new members, prompting the opening of its second location in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood on April 15 last year.
As the church celebrates its one-year anniversary, Hodges has his eyes on opening a third church: a megachurch capable of housing its ever-growing congregation.
Ambrosia’s two current locations have a capacity of just over 100 people.
The pastor, who has a two-year-old son, also wants to set up his own independent primary and secondary education system that will emphasize mental health and drug education.
“If our current education system had weekly mental health classes for every age level, we probably wouldn’t have mass shootings in the U.S.,” he says.
These may be bold ambitions, but since the church earns about $5 million from the contributions of its members, they may not be delusions.
Hodges says that currently about $3 million of this revenue is eaten up by legal fees (about $600 million per year), 24-hour security at both locations ($1.4 million) and rent (about $1 million).
The rest largely goes to fixed running costs, including the production of church sacraments by some of its members.
A brew of mushroom tea comes out naturally blue. The Church of Ambrosia packs its own homogenized mushroom powder into a tea bag before steeping it in boiling water
Ambrosia offers a variety of mushroom varieties, including Loving Teacher, Sun Temple, Baby Blues, and Ghost Penis Envy, which can be purchased with a monetary contribution (an ounce can cost up to $260) or volunteer efforts.
While it is possible that this could be viewed as illegal drug trafficking, Hodges argues that these transactions do not count as sales because members sign an agreement that means they own everything within the church, including the sacrament.
So there is no transfer of ownership, says the pastor.
Hodges was not charged following the 2020 police raid and insisted the church was not breaking the law.
For those who claim that his church is not really “religious,” the newly anointed Prophet of Mushroom has some words of advice.
“There are many people who don’t believe our faith is real,” he says. ‘That’s actually more of a reflection on them.
‘For me, the belief really comes from the experiences I’ve had with these groundbreaking doses of mushrooms.
“So if there are people who don’t believe we’re doing this for the right reason, my response is always to make more mushrooms.”