Religious Use

[hrtsongmeditation]

Hi,

I'm very interested in the possibility of using Ayahuasca/DMT for spiritual growth, but am concerned about the potential legal issues here in the US. I have a family and am not going to take any risks with drug charges.

I know that there are some churches that have gotten permission to use Ayahuasca legally and would like to know more about them. I live in the DC/Northern VA area and I would love to know if there is anything nearby.

 

[What a substance]

Santo Daime in the USA? - Ayahuasca - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

I have not read all the thread but it looks like a starting point that might help you.

Good luck :|

 

[Nathanial.Dread]

This conversation perennially comes up on The Nexus and it's usually folded into this big, rambling thread:

On The Legality of DMT Source Plants (With Discussion Of A Religious Freedom Defense)

On the Legal Status of DMT Source Plants in the US (with a discussion of the religious use defense) - DMT Discussion - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

To summarize what that extremely long thread says:

"Don't count of religious freedom claims to help you out, especially if you're a lower or middle class white male."

The fact of the matter is, the religious freedom laws in the US (I'm going to tacitly assume that's where you're based) are tinged with racism: for example, for a long time, only people of Native American descent could eat peyote, and in some states, this is still the case: as if race somehow limits your ability to be spiritual.

For you to make a valid claim for religious freedom, you have to prove two basically unprovable things:

1) That you are acting with 'sincere religious intent'
and
2) That prohibition is a substantial burden on your ability to act on the belief.

No. 2 will be no problem, but it is practically impossible to prove No. 1, and any prosecutor would say: "they're just pretending to have belief so they don't go to jail and still get high off their drugz!"
Unless you are actually of Native American descent, I don't think most Americans would buy it. It's a sick state of affairs, but I'm afraid it's the one we have to live with.

Now, if you could argue appeal your inevitable conviction all the way up to the US Supreme Court, I'm not sure what would happen. Depends on how left or right leaning the next couple of justices to pop are.

I have always hoped that someone would get busted for DMT, defend on religious freedom grounds and take it all the way to the SCOTUS, but since I'm certainly not going to do it, it's not right for me to expect anyone else to.

It would be interesting, though.

Blessings
~ND

 

[hrtsongmeditation]

If it comes to it I've actually considered founding a small church with some friends and then suing the gov't for the right to use before actually using. It'd be a pretty big hassle though and I'm not sure that I want to invest the time or money into it.

That said, if anybody knows a lawyer who would take a case like that Pro Bono; I'm willing to invest time into a worthwhile cause. I can organize people and actually pull hippies into a church if I can convince them there's a shot of getting things legalized.

 

[Nathanial.Dread]

You could reach out to the American Civil Liberties Union (the ACLU).
If anyone would take this case pro bono, it would be them.

Not sure though.

Blessings
~ND

 

[hrtsongmeditation]

I suppose it's worth a try. Thanks.

 

[hrtsongmeditation]

I don't think the ACLU is the answer. Their response was underwhelming and I don't think that they would help me sue the government as things are. They'd probably help if I got busted for possession, but I'd rather a course of action that takes that off the table before ever trying DMT.

I could set up a petition on whitehouse.org asking that the government set up a program so that individuals and organizations with spiritual reasons to be using could apply for a license and avoid prosecution; but, those petitions need 100,000 signatures within 30 days in order to really get a response. I suspect that the # of signatures is less an issue than the 30 days part.