Lansing — An activist with a business in Ann Arbor that offers magic mushrooms to customers and is seeking to decriminalize the hallucinogenic fungi across Michigan has been the top individual political donor to Democrat Eli Savit’s campaign to be Michigan’s attorney general.
Five years ago, Savit, who’s currently the Washtenaw County prosecutor, announced he would not pursue criminal cases involving the possession or growth of naturally occurring psychedelics, like so-called magic mushrooms. At the time, Savit posted on social media that his office was “firmly committed to ending the war on drugs.”
Two years later, Christopher Kurtz of Ann Arbor filed paperwork with the state to form a Michigan company called MF Shrooms. According to its website and local media reports, the business is located inside a vintage clothing store in Ann Arbor and advertises mushroom products like Smokey the Ghost, which “gives a euphoric body buzz” and Blucifer, which brings “colorful dreamy visuals.”
Kurtz has given $8,325 — the maximum an individual can donate to a candidate in Michigan — directly to Savit’s campaign to be the state’s top law enforcement officer and $5,200 to Pursuit of Justice, a political action committee tied to Savit, according to financial disclosures. Pursuit of Justice has moved much of its money to Savit’s campaign.
In a text message to The Detroit News, Kurtz declined to comment or answer questions. In a November video posted on social media, Kurtz said he discovered mushrooms in 2015 and they “plucked” addiction to other drugs out of his brain. Kurtz added that he wanted to spread mushrooms “to as many people as possible.”
“(I) opened the store … to kinda be able to help people daily and try to bring people mushrooms and medicine as affordable as possible,” Kurtz said in the November video.
The MF Shrooms website, which features dosing advice, repeatedly notes that “psilocybin Mushrooms are decriminalized in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.”
Kurtz’s background and role in funding Savit’s bid could be factors this weekend as Democrats gather in Detroit to choose between Savit, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald or public defender Bill Noakes as the party’s nominee for attorney general.
Michigan’s current attorney general, Democrat Dana Nessel, can’t run again this year because of term limits.
Under state law, psilocybin, the hallucinogenic substance in some mushrooms, is illegal to use. The Michigan Poison Center has cautioned that the items can “have toxic effects and may cause significant illness resulting in hospitalization or death in people with underlying heart and neurological illnesses.”
When asked about Kurtz’s campaign contributions, Savit said it “should not be surprising that those who advocate for a more humane approach to substance-use policy are supporting our campaign.”
Decriminalizing psychedelics doesn’t fall under the attorney general’s authority and is not part of his campaign platform, Savit said.
However, during a November meeting with the group Decriminalize Psilocybin Michigan, Kurtz, who’s a director of that organization, specifically touted Savit and noted efforts by a handful of cities to discount criminal penalties tied to psychedelics.
“He’s like, ‘We need to connect the entire state to these cities,'” Kurtz said of Savit, according to a recording posted on YouTube. “And he’s running for state attorney general.
“So hopefully, we’ll have people who support this in higher places.”
Savit’s stance on psychedelics
Kurtz made the comment about Savit during a Nov. 19 virtual meeting, according to the video on YouTube.
After already giving the max amount to Savit’s campaign, Kurtz contributed $5,200 to the political action committee Pursuit of Justice on Nov. 17. The PAC’s website says it was founded by Savit and his chief assistant prosecutor, Victoria Burton-Harris.
The contribution from Kurtz was the only one Pursuit of Justice reported receiving over the final two-month disclosure period of 2025. The PAC started that period with $1,493 and gave $5,000 to Savit’s campaign on Dec. 30, according to its most recent report.
Savit’s campaign for attorney general has reported raising $352,340 since launching on May 12, 2025.
When Savit announced he would no longer bring cases related to naturally occurring psychedelics in 2021, his office contended that prosecuting entheogenic-plant use was “not in the interest of justice.”
“Naturally occurring entheogenic plants are not generally addictive, nor do they present a significant risk of a fatal overdose,” Savit’s policy directive said. “Entheogenic plants, moreover, are not associated with violent behavior.”
Both Savit and Nessel’s office said the attorney general wouldn’t normally get a case involving psychedelics because those matters are usually handled by county prosecutors.
However, Republican Mike Cox of Livonia, a former attorney general and a current candidate for governor, said he was concerned by the contributions from Kurtz to Savit’s campaign.
An attorney general has the ability to help undersaffed local prosecutors enforce state laws, like the ban on psychedelic drugs, Cox said.
“This guy is paying for an exemption that he wouldn’t be able to get from (Wayne County Prosecutor) Kym Worthy, (Oakland County Prosecutor) Karen McDonald or (Macomb County Prosecutor) Pete Lucido,” Cox said.
In 2021, Savit said his county prosecutor’s office might “continue to file charges against large-scale, profit-seeking enterprises who flout safety laws.”
Asked how the mushroom stores in Ann Arbor were legal, Savit said decriminalization policies in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County were exercises in discretion.
“Neither purports to alter state law,” Savit told The Detroit News.
Karen McDonald’s campaign contributors
In addition to advertising mushrooms, the MF Shrooms website says it’s available for “walk-ins in Ann Arbor” and “all exchanges are considered a donation.”
“MF Shrooms cannot and does not give medical advice,” the website says. “We share experiences and anecdotes for what has and hasn’t worked for others. Only you know your own body and mind, and every person has a different life experience and brain chemistry.”
McDonald’s campaign declined to comment on the contributions made by Kurtz to Savit’s bid to become Michigan’s chief law enforcement officer.
Michigan Democratic Party members will vote on Sunday afternoon on whether to endorse McDonald, Savit, or Noakes as their nominee for attorney general.
McDonald’s campaign reported raising $1.1 million for her bid to be attorney general as of the end of last year.
Her top donors have included a plumbers and steamfitters union PAC, which gave $83,250, and dozens of supporters who chipped in the $8,325 individual maximum, according to disclosures. Those individual donors included lawyer Mark Bernstein, Detroit Pistons executive Arn Tellem and auto dealer Jay Feldman.
Noakes has reported raising $0 for his campaign.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Top donor to attorney general hopeful Eli Savit peddles magic mushrooms
Reporting by Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
