In Oakland, Are Magic Mushrooms Allowed?

Zide Door, a nondenominational and interfaith church in Oakland, has become the second city in the United States to decriminalize the use and possession of psychedelic mushrooms. The church, which has 40,000 members, requires attendees to be 18+ with a valid government-issued ID and si. Despite the decriminalization of “magic mushrooms” in Oakland, selling products containing psilocybin remains illegal. Bliss Mushrooms, a company that sells psychedelic mushrooms, has not stopped its operations.

The Oakland City Council approved a resolution in June 2019 to effectively decriminalize hallucinogenic fungi, or “magic mushrooms”. However, magic mushrooms are still illegal under federal and state law. Entheogenic substances are considered Schedule 1 drugs under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously voted to decriminalize the use of “shrooms and other natural psychedelic or hallucinogenic drugs, including cacti”. Commercial distribution and possession in schools will remain illegal. On Thursday, lawmakers in the state Senate approved S.B. 58, which removes criminal penalties for the personal possession and use of psilocybin-containing drugs.

Supporters of the resolution argue that these drugs have medical and spiritual benefits and have historically been used by some cultures for various purposes. For example, acquiring a chocolate bar stuffed with dried psilocybe cubensis mushrooms was as simple as driving to one of the churches.