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Swami
Eggshell Walker
Registered: 01/18/00
Posts: 15,413
Loc: In the hen house
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Uniao de Vegetal Wins Ayahuasca Case
#841761 - 08/25/02 05:56 AM (21 years, 7 months ago) |
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Now this could go in the Political, Other Drugs or Spirituality Forums, but posted this here because the "tea" is an integral part of their religion.
from CannabisNews.com:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a Brazilian religious group that uses hallucinogenic tea in its ceremonies should get back a shipment of the substance seized by U.S. Customs agents.
U.S. District Judge James Parker found that church members' rights under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act were being violated by withholding the tea.
Jeffrey Bronfman, president of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, or UDV, sued the U.S. Department of Justice after the Customs Bureau and the Drug Enforcement Agency seized 30 gallons (114 liters) of hoasca tea from his Santa Fe office in 1999. No one was arrested in the raid.
UDV used to hold ceremonies near Bronfman's home southeast of Santa Fe, where members consumed the tea that contains N.N. dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a controlled substance.
The tea is brewed from plants found only in the Amazon River Basin. The religion originated in Brazil and its U.S. operations are based in Santa Fe.
In a 61-page opinion written Aug. 12, Parker rejected freedom of religion and equal protection claims raised by the church.
But he found that the government had failed to prove that the tea was dangerous.
Parker granted the UDV a preliminary injunction, but U.S. Justice Department lawyers could seek a stay while they appeal the case. It was not immediately clear whether government attorneys would appeal.
Both sides will meet Sept. 3 in the federal court in Albuquerque to determine how the religious group would be compensated.
-------------------- The proof is in the pudding.
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Xlea321
Stranger
Registered: 02/25/01
Posts: 9,134
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Re: Uniao de Vegetal Wins Ayahuasca Case [Re: Swami]
#841910 - 08/25/02 08:07 AM (21 years, 7 months ago) |
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Very strange. You reject all forms of spirituality and entheogen use as brain "short circuits" and "windows 98 like crashes" and yet appear here to be supporting the UDV, which is a group that believes in contact with spirits and God through the mature use of their chosen entheogen.
Very odd.
-------------------- Don't worry, B. Caapi
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Learyfan
It's the psychedelic movement!
Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 34,184
Loc: High pride!
Last seen: 5 hours, 55 minutes
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Re: Uniao de Vegetal Wins Ayahuasca Case [Re: Swami]
#842073 - 08/25/02 10:29 AM (21 years, 7 months ago) |
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But he found that the government had failed to prove that the tea was dangerous. When has that stopped the government from outlawing a chemical?? I guess they've proven without a shadow of a doubt that marijuana is dangerous.
-------------------- -------------------------------- Mp3 of the month: Sons Of Adam - Feathered Fish
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Sclorch
Clyster
Registered: 07/12/99
Posts: 4,805
Loc: On the Brink of Madness
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Re: Uniao de Vegetal Wins Ayahuasca Case [Re: Xlea321]
#842523 - 08/25/02 04:02 PM (21 years, 7 months ago) |
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Very strange. You reject all forms of spirituality and entheogen use as brain "short circuits" and "windows 98 like crashes" and yet appear here to be supporting the UDV, which is a group that believes in contact with spirits and God through the mature use of their chosen entheogen.
Not strange or contradictory at all. Perceptions....
-------------------- Note: In desperate need of a cure...
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postalboy
I'm not myfucking khaki's!
Registered: 06/07/02
Posts: 228
Loc: My tiny corner of the pad...
Last seen: 20 years, 11 months
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Re: Uniao de Vegetal Wins Ayahuasca Case [Re: Swami]
#843479 - 08/26/02 04:47 AM (21 years, 7 months ago) |
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YAY! Way to go. Score one for the little guys. That is until the Justice Department decides that they don't like judges dictating rules to them. My prediction is that the tea will go the way of the peyote cactus and be outlawed in religious ceremonies.
-------------------- "You people voted for Hubert Humphrey, and you killed Jesus." F and L in L.V.
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