Winning the Right to Religious Use of Ayahuasca
Presented by: Jeffrey Bronfman
Hosted by: Bia Labate
On May 21, 1999 Jeffrey Bronfman answered a loud knock on the door of the offices of the União do Vegetal (UDV) church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He opened the door to encounter more than a dozen armed US Customs Service and FBI agents with a warrant to seize all the church’s sacramental hoasca tea (ayahuasca) claiming it was contraband and impermissible to possess and distribute under both US and international law. This event initiated a legal action where the small church eventually sued the government of the United States for the return of its sacrament and a court order authorizing its religious practice.
The legal action, which occurred over a more than 10-year period, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court of the United States, was fully resolved in the church’s favor. In a truly historic precedent setting decision internationally the UDV ultimately secured it’s rights through an agreement negotiated with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) whereby it became a legally registered importer, distributor and manufacturer of an otherwise prohibited substance.
“In its decision and judgment the United States Supreme Court recognized and affirmed the União do Vegetal as a valid religion, where the act of receiving communion with Hoasca was central to its religious faith. The decision was based on a careful review of the transcripts from the testimony given at the New Mexico hearing, more than a thousand pages of supportive documentation (including the scientific research) submitted into evidence, and hundreds of pages of legal arguments and expert opinions submitted by both sides over more than 5 years of litigation”.
“Winning the Right to Religious Use of Ayahuasca” is the first webinar about ayahuasca and legality.
Resources:
Categories:
NEWS
, ADF
Tags:
legality
, ayahuasca
, Ayahuasca Defense Fund
, webinar