Should Drug Laws Limit Religious Activities?
"About once a month and on certain holidays, members of a New Mexico branch of a Brazilian religious group drink a tea called hoasca, a sacrament they liken to Catholics taking wine at communion. They believe it gives them heightened spiritual awareness.
But one of the ingredients in hoasca, which is made from plants indigenous to the Brazilian Amazon, is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an illegal hallucinogen. The government has been fighting since 1999 to stop the group from importing and using the tea.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the group could continue to drink hoasca. Now the issue has reached the Supreme Court in a case that is seen as a test of religious freedom in America. "
I'm not a big fan of drugs or religion, but it seems obvious to me that to outlaw this is restricting religous freedom.
But one of the ingredients in hoasca, which is made from plants indigenous to the Brazilian Amazon, is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), an illegal hallucinogen. The government has been fighting since 1999 to stop the group from importing and using the tea.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the group could continue to drink hoasca. Now the issue has reached the Supreme Court in a case that is seen as a test of religious freedom in America. "
I'm not a big fan of drugs or religion, but it seems obvious to me that to outlaw this is restricting religous freedom.
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