High Court Allows Church's Hallucinogenic Tea

[Dr. Shane]

High Court Allows Church's Hallucinogenic Tea

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The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a small congregation in New Mexico may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual intended to connect with God.

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Justices, in their first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice John Roberts, moved decisively to keep the government out of a church's religious practice. Federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the hoasca tea of the Brazil-based church, Roberts wrote in the decision.

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Roberts said that the Bush administration had not met its burden under a federal religious freedom law to show that it could ban "the sect's sincere religious practice."

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Roberts, writing his second opinion since joining the court, said that religious freedom cases can be difficult "but Congress has determined that courts should strike sensible balances."

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[Dr. Shane]

I heard this story on NPR this afternoon but found it on NewsMax when looking for it So I got it from both ends of the political spectrum.

[Parade Orange]

How do you become a member?

and Where is there church?

[olger]

Sounds like a bitter substitute for the Holy Spirit of God.

blessings,

olger

[aldona]

It's a very interesting topic and raises a lot of questions.

There are a lot of religions all over the world, both old and new, which promote the use of mind-altering plants and other substances as a way to "know God" or "experience the Infinite" or some variation on this theme.

I often wonder what God's purpose is/was for such plants in the grand scheme of nature. (e.g. marijuana, magic mushrooms, opium poppies, peyote, LSD in ergot, all the usual suspects etc.)

Were they created that way?

Or did changes take place after sin entered the world?

Did the serpent's invitation to Eve to sample the forbidden fruit, because it would make her "like God, knowing good and evil" speak to the same kind of curiosity that makes people today want to experiment with drugs to "expand their mind"?

Did God allow some hallucinogenic or narcotic substances to remain in plants as a merciful way of easing some of the suffering brought about by the fall, when used responsibly? (Examples: Morphine/opium in the treatment of severe pain. Cannabis used by some sufferers of multiple sclerosis and other diseases, to relieve muscle spasm. The mention of alcohol in Proverbs 31:6,7 - "Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.")

Do some of these plants etc. have uses that we do not fully understand yet? (e.g. treatment of mental illness?)

For the record, I would like to state that I have never consumed alcohol, nor have I ever used any hallucinogenic or narcotic drug or plant. I just like to speculate. Maybe if I ask enough questions I might come up with answers to some of them one day.

aldona

[Dr. Shane]

I think it is a good ruling. As long as this group confines their drug useage to a specific area and do not go out into public while under the influence, I see no reason this freedom to practice their faith should not be protected.

[Dr. Shane]

The case seems to fly in the face of this one.

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The two Native Americans drug counselors from Oregon lost their case, in which they claimed they were entitled to unemployment benefits after being fired for using as part of their traditional Indian religious ceremony. In Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), the justices ruled that the employees were fired for cause, having violated a contract with their employer agreeing not to use illegal drugs. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia held that religious practices, in this case ceremonial use of peyote, are not exempt from "generally applicable" criminal prohibitions.

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However these two native american drug counselors could have been fired for using alcohol in the same context. The issue the Court addressed directly was whether or not the employer had a right to terminate the employees. They did not directly address the issue of whether or not the native americans had the right to use peyote. Many drug counselors are themselves recovering addicts and/or alcoholics and thus have to sign a contract that they will not use alcohol or any illegal drug. Only drugs prescribed by a doctor are premitted. It would be interesting to see how the Court would have ruled had they been Catholics terminated for drinking communion wine (most churches do offer grape juice for those that do not drink).