Magic mushroom church sues local police

Magic mushrooms growing — (Image credit: Getty Images)

A church in the US that uses magic mushrooms to have a “direct experience with God” is suing local police over a raid it says infringes on the group’s constitutional and religious rights. The Zide Door Church of Entheogenic Plants is seeking damages “for the harms” it suffered when officers took $200,000 worth of cannabis and mushrooms, reported Vice. The church says it is “a non-denominational, interfaith religious organisation that supports the use and safe access of all etheogenic plants with a focus on cannabis and magic mushrooms”.

Japan wants more young people to buy booze

The Japanese government has launched a contest to encourage young people to drink more alcohol, reported CNN. Covid restrictions have caused sales of alcohol at bars to plummet in the world’s third-largest economy. Keen to reignite tax revenues from the sector, the tax authorities have launched the “Sake Viva!” campaign, inviting people to submit ideas on how to “stimulate demand among young people” for alcohol. Not everyone is impressed. “Are you kidding me?” a Twitter user wrote. “Staying away from alcohol is a good thing!”

Seal breaks into family home

A seal has been returned to the sea after it broke into a New Zealand home, reported The Guardian. The family in Mt Maunganui were surprised to find the New Zealand fur seal in their home, which is about 150m from the shore. Phil Ross, a marine biologist, said it was a shame he was not home at the time. “The big joke is that this is really the only family emergency where it would be useful to have a marine biologist in the house,” he said. “I really missed my time to shine.”

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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.