Daily Drug War Digest -- October 14, 2026

An Iowa church is very near being able to import ayahuasca for use as a religious sacrament, Pennsylvania's high court refuses to modify the state's draconian drug delivery resulting in death law, and more. 

Making ayahuasca in the Amazon. (Chris Kilham)

Marijuana Policy 

DEA Judge Orders Agency to Address Marijuana Rescheduling Opponents' Request for New Testimony, Document Discovery. The DEA administrative law judge overseeing the Trump administration's rescheduling proposal has ordered the agency to respond to opponents' request for a new round of testimony and discovery. 

The move follows a General Accounting Office (GAO) report that found "gaps" in the government's process for evaluating controlled substances. DEA had signaled it did not object to including the document in the hearing record but that it did not want further hearings. 

"Having received a new substantive motion, I will once again order a response and allow time for filing," said DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius on Wednesday. "This matter remains STAYED to allow time for a response and to allow time for the tribunal to consider the pending motions," the judge said.

He also specified that the DEA response should be no more than 10 pages and due by October 21. 

Moving marijuana to Schedule III appeared to be close to a done deal earlier this summer, with the only step remaining being for Judge Julius to issue his own recommendation to the DEA administrator, but last month, Judge Julius granted the motion for a stay filed by the National Drug and Alcohol Association (NDASA), DUID Victim Voices and Kenneth Finn, M.D.—parties opposed to cannabis rescheduling that participated in the hearing and who now want the GAO report included as part of the record.

Ayahuasca

Iowa Church One Step Closer to Being Able to Import Ayahuasca for Religious Purposes. After years of foot-dragging over the Iowa-based Iowaska Church of Healings' request for a federal religious exemption allowing it to import the South American hallucinogen ayahuasca, the DEA changed its tune this summer, removing one hurdle from the church's quest for its sacrament.

But the church is not quite there yet. The DEA required state authorities to authorize the use, and the Iowa Board of Pharmacy has now done so, clearing the way for federal certificates to import the controlled substance and manufacture a psychoactive tea used in religious ceremonies. Granting those certificates should be the last obstacle before the ayahuasca can be imported. 

The church formed in Iowa in 2018 and was soon in a battle with the IRS over the agency's denial of tax-exempt status because the IRS viewed the use of a Schedule I controlled substance in church services as illegal. At the same time, the church was asking the DEA for a religious exemption from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In the IRS case, the church argued that the DEA had never responded to its request, so the IRS refused to grant the tax exemption.

The church then went to court against the DEA, saying the agency's failure to render a decision after five years constituted a "clearly unjustified prior restraint on religion." Then in June, the Department of Justice informed the court that the DEA and the Iowaska Church of Healing had reached a deal and signed a "memorandum of understanding" on the church's request for a religious exemption from the CSA. 

The agreement required not only DEA approval but also approval from state authorities for the exemption request to move forward, and the state Board of Pharmacy granted that approval last week. Now, the DEA must "expeditiously" process the necessary exemption, registrations, and permits.

Sentencing

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rejects Challenges to How State Prosecutes Drug Users Who Shared Drugs in Fatal Overdoses. In a ruling on Tuesday, the state Supreme Court refused to add protections for drug users accused of providing drugs that resulted in a fatal overdose. The state's drug delivery death law has been widely criticized for ensnaring drug users who shared drugs instead of targeting high-level traffickers, but the high court brushed aside those concerns. 

In a pair of cases, the justices upheld the convictions of two drug-sharers, writing that state law broadly defines "delivery" and "does not differentiate between drug dealers and co-users for purposes of delivery of illegal narcotics."

The justices acknowledged that they "cannot ignore the fact that" the "proposed defense makes sense — some believe drug dealers should be punished more harshly than drug users," but they deferred to the state legislature. 

"Nevertheless, this type of policy determination is for the General Assembly, not the courts," the opinion stated.

The state's drug delivery resulting in death (DDRD) law has resulted in hundreds of convictions and state prison sentences of up to 40 years since it went into effect in 2021. 

C. Melissa Owen, an attorney and president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, was disappointed with the court’s decision.

"It is unthinkable that joint drug use can be made a homicide," she said. "We anticipate this ruling will further discourage individuals from seeking help during an overdose, causing the very harm the law purports to prevent."