A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Utah religious group seeking legal protection for its use of psilocybin, denying the state’s motion to dismiss the case and halting a criminal prosecution against one of its members.
The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Jill N. Parrish, rejects arguments from Utah County, Provo City, and County Attorney Jeffrey Gray, and affirms the rights of plaintiffs Bridger Jensen, the religious group Singularism, and its affiliate Psyche Healing and Bridging. At the heart of the case is the group’s sacramental use of psilocybin mushrooms, which the plaintiffs claim is central to their religious practice.
The court previously issued a preliminary injunction under the Utah Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the state had substantially burdened their religious exercise without meeting strict scrutiny. In this new ruling, the court also sided with the plaintiffs on First Amendment and Fourth Amendment grounds, as well as under the Utah Constitution and Utah’s RFRA.
Judge Parrish found that Utah’s Controlled Substances Act, which classifies psilocybin as a Schedule I drug, is not “generally applicable” because it allows exemptions for certain secular medical uses—specifically for behavioral health programs overseen by licensed healthcare systems—but not for religious use. That lack of neutrality triggers strict scrutiny, requiring the state to show that banning religious psilocybin use is the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling interest.
The judge found no evidence that the plaintiffs’ sacramental psilocybin practices posed more risk than the state’s permitted secular uses. “A religious exemption for Plaintiffs would not necessarily undermine the government’s interest any more than the secular exemption does,” wrote the court.
The court also rejected the state’s claim that prosecuting the plaintiffs didn’t amount to a “substantial burden” under Utah’s RFRA. Judge Parrish dismissed the argument as “border[ing] on the disingenuous,” noting that the plaintiffs are barred from conducting their central religious rites and face criminal penalties for doing so.
The ruling also grants an anti-suit injunction, preventing the state from pursuing a criminal case against Jensen while the federal litigation proceeds. The court found that the criminal case appeared to have been filed in bad faith—days after the judge had already granted the plaintiffs a temporary restraining order. The judge said the prosecution seemed intended to relitigate issues the state was losing in federal court.
“This court has no hesitation finding that the government pursued the prosecution primarily to harass Plaintiffs into ceasing their sincere religious practices,” the ruling states.
Judge Parrish emphasized that the loss of religious freedom—even temporarily—constitutes irreparable harm under constitutional law. As a result, the court exercised its authority to enjoin the state from continuing its criminal prosecution.
The case is now set to proceed on the merits, with the plaintiffs having cleared the initial legal hurdles. If they ultimately prevail, it could establish a precedent for religious exemptions to Utah’s psilocybin ban and potentially influence similar cases in other jurisdictions.
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