US court backs hallucinogenic tea

US court backs hallucinogenic tea


A small US congregation can use hallucinogenic tea as part of its rituals to connect with God, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The unanimous decision is court's first religious freedom case since Chief Justice John Roberts was appointed.

The hoasca tea is considered sacred to members of the group, O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal.

In its ruling, the court said the government must allow the use of the tea under religious freedom laws.

Mr Roberts wrote that federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the tea.

However, the justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, which could consider more evidence.

Controlled substance

The administration of President George W Bush had argued that the tea was illegal and potentially dangerous.

Members of the group believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.

The brewed tea, made from two plants that grow in the Amazon, contains dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a controlled substance banned under federal drug laws.

About 130 members of a Brazil-based church were involved in long-running dispute with federal agents, who seized their tea in 1999.

Mr Roberts, a conservative, was appointed to the court last year.

Since he replaced another conservative, William Rehnquist, that change was not thought likely to affect the court's balance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4737994.stm

Im actually a little surprised at the unanimous decision. Score one for the good guys. I kinda wonder what kind of spiritual experiance they have on the stuff.

Apparently they 'undestand god'.

I've never tried Ayahuasca, but when I do, I want to do it with these guys...

I can imagine a small US congregation all standing around asking each other whether they're high yet.

whoa! thanks for posting this, will be interesting to see if the charges against eddy leep and his ministry are dropped, i know they postponed his trial to wait for this decision. :D

If you plan to partake in drugs for religious purposes, you are a legalized user.
If you plan to parktake in drugs for recreational purposes, you are a criminal abuser.

When I went on my DMT trip I floated through a cosmic sea of objectivity.

It was bomb. I won't get into my trip though.

Good news to hear.

'huasca is somethin else indeed.

From the CNN article:

Roberts said that the Bush administration had not met its burden under a federal religious freedom law to show that it could ban "the sect's sincere religious practice."

The chief justice had also been skeptical of the government's position in the case last fall, suggesting that the administration was demanding too much, a "zero tolerance approach."

The Bush administration had argued that the drug in the tea not only violates a federal narcotics law, but a treaty in which the United States promised to block the importation of drugs including dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT.

"The government did not even submit evidence addressing the international consequences of granting an exemption for the (church)," Roberts wrote.

The justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, which could consider more evidence.

Roberts, writing his second opinion since joining the court, said that religious freedom cases can be difficult "but Congress has determined that courts should strike sensible balances."

Click to expand...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/21/scotus.religion.ap/index.html

Wow, maybe there's hope for Roberts.