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Newsbrief:
New
Mexico
Church
Wins
Ruling
in
Ayahuasca
Case
9/12/03
A New Mexico-based branch
of the Brazilian Uniao do Vegetal (Union of the Vegetable, UDV) church
has won a second victory in its legal battle with the US government over
the church's sacramental use of hallucinogenic ayahuasca tea. On
September 5, a three-judge panel of the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals
in Denver ruled that the church's use of ayahuasca is likely to be protected
under US religious freedom laws. Earlier, a US District Court in
New Mexico had granted a preliminary injunction against the US Attorney
General, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other government
agencies that seek to bar ayahuasca use for religious purposes. In
granting the preliminary injunction, the New Mexico court found that the
UDV "demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success" of winning an exemption
to the Controlled Substances Act for sacramental ayahuasca use.
Ayahuasca, a concoction brewed
from two plants found only in the Amazon basin, contains DMT, a hallucinogen
listed in the Controlled Substances Act. (In another case, federal
courts in Georgia have ruled that the CSA listing of ayahuasca is correct
-- see http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/shoemaker1.htm
for info). The current case originated in 1999, when US Customs agents
raided the UDV's offices in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and seized some 30 gallons
of the tea. Unluckily for the feds, the president of the US UDV is
Jeffrey Bronfman, heir to the Seagram's whiskey fortune, who promptly sued
for relief, claiming violations of the First Amendment and the Religious
Freedom Restoration Act.
The UDV, with tens of thousands
of members in Brazil, is recognized as a church there. In the US,
where membership is in the low hundreds, the church, and its sacrament
in particular, have yet to gain official approval.
Visit http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/ayahuasca_index.htm
for further information on this issue.
-- END --
|
Issue #302, 9/12/03
Oops! -- "Killer
Ecstasy" Study Retracted, NIDA Credibility on the Line, RAVE Act Still
Law |
Marijuana
as Budget Saver? Study Looks at Implications of Legalization in Massachusetts |
Current Action
Alerts: Medical Marijuana, Plan Colombia, HEA, Ashcroft's Attack
on Judicial Discretion |
Perry Fund
Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing
Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
Newsbrief:
Human Rights Watch Calls California's Anti-Syringe Laws a Violation of
Human Rights, Details Police Harassment of Exchanges |
Arianna Huffington
Speaks at UC Berkeley SSDP-Volunteer-Organized Event |
Newsbrief:
Tommy Chong Sentenced to Nine Months on Bong Charges |
Newsbrief:
This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief:
West Africa Drug War -- Business As Usual, Except for the Lizards |
Newsbrief:
Canadian Cities Federation Stays Firm in Support of Cannabis Decrim |
Newsbrief:
New Mexico Church Wins Ruling in Ayahuasca Case |
Newsbrief:
Pakistani Prison Officials Call for Different Treatment of Drug Offenders |
Newsbrief:
Dutch Government Seeks to Ban Cops from Enjoying Coffee Shops |
Newsbrief:
Connecticut Democrats to Propose Sentencing Reforms |
The Reformer's
Calendar
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