Utah judge denies motion to dismiss lawsuit over religious psychedelic mushroom use

SALT LAKE CITY — Singularism, a religious group based in Provo that has been embroiled in a legal battle over its use of psychedelic mushrooms, has achieved at least a short-term victory in Federal Court.

On Monday, District Judge Jill Parrish of the U.S. District Court of Utah sided with the group, denying Utah County and the city of Provo’s motion to dismiss.

In February, the religious group, led by Bridger Lee Jensen, filed a lawsuit against Utah County and Provo. The suit alleged that authorities “knowingly and recklessly proceeded in defiance of the protections afforded to sincere religious believers under the U.S. Constitution” when Provo police raided Singularism’s meeting house, confiscating “sacramental psilocybin” mushrooms.

Criminal charges were also filed against Jensen by the Utah County attorney, and law enforcement reportedly contacted the landlord of Singularism’s meeting house, recommending that it evict its tenant.

Parrish previously granted Jensen and Singularism a temporary restraining order against Provo and Utah County, which ordered law enforcement to return the psilocybin and allow Singularism to perform its religious practices while the courts continued working on the case.

On Monday, in addition to denying the motion to dismiss the suit against the city and county, Parrish ordered the Utah County attorney to stop criminal proceedings against Jensen until the Federal Court issued a final judgment.

“After ordering them to return our mushrooms, now they have ruled that these were indeed in bad faith and were retaliatory charges,” Jensen said.

Judge: Prosecution was brought in ‘bad faith’

In a scathing remark against Utah County and Provo, Parrish argued in her Monday ruling that forcing Singularism to wait for criminal trials to conclude would be a “death warrant” for the religious group.

“Based on the record in this case, the court notes once again its finding that the prosecution was brought in bad faith as part of a larger effort to harass plaintiffs for their entheogenic religious practices and in hopes of giving the government a second opportunity to litigate the free-exercise issues presented squarely in this case,” Parrish’s ruling said.

Parrish also said damages to Singularism were not just theoretical: The group has already lost members.

Singularism’s initial suit seeks a judge to rule that Utah County, Provo and the Utah County attorney violated the group’s First Amendment right to free religious expression with the raid and subsequent legal action.

What is Singularism?

According to its website, Singularism “is a contemporary religion dedicated to the responsible, ethical, and structured spiritual use of psilocybin as a sacrament.”

“We are a multiversal, entheogenic religion that, in sincerity, practice with magic mushrooms and do so to help us have powerful, next-level spiritual and mystical experiences, to be supportive and affirming of all faiths.”

The group says its spiritual beliefs center around “the sacred tradition of Entheogenic Spiritual Guidance,” and that its “ceremonies are rooted in the belief that psilocybin is a sacred sacrament that can serve as a conduit to profound spiritual experiences.”