So, wine and communion wafers are ok, but not herbal tea? Sounds discriminatory to me. And somehow I just don't think hoasca tea is a 'gateway' drug to 'narcotic trafficking'. Total bullshit in other words. I don't understand why any psychedelic substance is a Schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 drugs are those that have absolutely no use to human kind, and 3,000 years of human history argues otherwise in the case of peyote, hoasca tea, even marijuana. Plants, created by G-d - should not be made illegal by man.
WSJ.com - US Wants High Crt To Block Church's Hallucinogenic Tea Use:
The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to block a New Mexico church from using hallucinogenic tea that the government contends is illegal and potentially dangerous.
The appeal from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales argues that a lower court was wrong to allow the Brazil-based O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal to import and use the hoasca tea as part of its religious services.
“The court's decision has mandated that the federal government open the nation's borders to the importation, circulation and usage of a mind-altering hallucinogen and threatens to inflict irreparable harm on international cooperation in combating transnational narcotics trafficking,” the filing states.
...The group has won several rounds at the lower courts, most recently at the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in November.
In December, the Supreme Court lifted a temporary stay that allowed the church to immediately use the tea after its court victories.
