“One officer openly referred to the religious operation as a ‘loophole’ and laughed when corrected. He also said ‘look how stupid they are, they wrote it all down.'”
By Alixel Cabrera, Utah News Dispatch
Months after Utah’s ban on flavored vapes, Blackhouse, a former Sugar House vape shop, became a sanctuary and a safe haven for those searching to get flavored cartridges—for spiritual and religious practices.
Electronic cigarettes have joined other religious sacraments in Utah that are the subject of legal disputes, such as psychedelic mushroom and cannabis. But, after Utah law enforcement agencies raided the Sugar House location, as well as the Salt City Sanctuary in South Salt Lake in August, all of these sacraments have been put into legal question, with the Sugarleaf Church, the institution overseeing both sanctuaries, initiating a lawsuit to keep them.
“Officers arrived using riot gear, AR-15s, pry bars, and battering rams, forcibly entered both sanctuaries, and immediately began disabling the security systems and surveillance cameras with a crow bar,” the church said in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City in August.
Officers confiscated thousands of vape cartridges with flavored flavors, as well as blank checkbooks and waivers. They also confiscated clergy lists, donations in cash, tablet computers, and records about membership.
The church wants a court to issue an order to law enforcement that they stop interfering in the free exercise of religious beliefs by its members and award compensation damages. Also, South Salt Lake Police Department (SSLPD) and Utah State Bureau of Investigation are being asked to complete mandatory religious-sensitivity training.
At Salt City Sanctuary the agents seized “4.24 kilograms of packaged marijuana flower; over a kilogram of ‘fresh flower’ marijuana; 956 1-gram pre-rolled marijuana joints, 8 display jars of marijuana flower, 152.5 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, mushroom gummies and sample packs, numerous edibles with THC, and rolling papers,” according to a motion to dismiss filed by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
At Blackhouse, officers confiscated “significant quantities of raw marijuana; psilocybin mushrooms; THC vapes, cookies, gummies, candies, syrups, oils, and similar products; psilocybin cookies, gummies, and similar products; and over 3,000 flavored vape cartridges and order receipts,” the district attorney’s office said in its motion.
Joshua Robers was arrested during the raid on Salt City Sanctuary and taken to Salt Lake County Jail. In 3rd District Court he faces multiple charges, including possession with the intent to distribute a controlled drug, which is a third degree felony.
Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has filed a motion for dismissal of the lawsuit and refused to comment as the case is still pending.
The Church
Sugarleaf Church has branches in Mexico and nine other states. They use psychoactive substances, such as cannabis or psilocybin for their sacraments. Each member must sign a contract committing themselves to the code of behavior.
“These are not casual practices,” the church wrote in its lawsuit, “they are intentional, structured, and rooted in decades of education, experience and legal precedent.”
In its filing, the church cited the protections provided by the U.S. Constitution as well as federal laws that protect religious freedom. It also mentioned a federal judge’s recent decision siding with a small Provo-based faith group that uses psilocybin mushrooms as part of its practice and ordering Utah County to temporarily stop criminal proceedings against the organization and its founder.
The Provo case partially hinged on a 2024 state law that made it easier to sue government entities if they restrict a person’s right to exercise their religion.
Sugarleaf raids occurred a few days after this decision was made, said the church. A sanctuary volunteer said that officers did not read the waivers, religious statements, or clergy notices. The officers “mocked” the religion.
“One officer openly referred to the religious operation as a ‘loophole’ and laughed when corrected. He also said ‘look how stupid they are, they wrote it all down,'” the church’s lawsuit says.
The prosecutors contend that these Utah sites should be classified as stores and not as churches. Department of Commerce documents indicate multiple business entities operated at the location of Blackhouse Sanctuary including Blackhouse Vapor Company LLC. The prosecutors pointed out that this fact refutes claims made by the Sugar House site’s owners, who claimed the location was solely religious.
District Attorney’s Office pointed out, “plaintiffs claim religious use of marijuana or psilocybin. They do not affirm any religious beliefs or practices relating to flavor vape cartridges.”
Utah News Dispatch published this article first.