Supreme Court to Hear Appeal on Hallucinogenic Tea

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By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide whether the federal government must allow the U.S. branch of a Brazilian-based religion to import a hallucinogenic tea for use as a sacrament.

The high court agreed to review a U.S. appeals court ruling that said the government could not prohibit the sacramental use of the tea because of a 1993 religious freedom law.

The U.S. Justice Department said that under the ruling the government must allow the importation and possession of hoasca tea for religious services, even though it contains an illegal, controlled substance that can be potentially dangerous.

Members of the religion, O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, believe the tea is sacred and that using it connects them to God. The tea is made from two plants that grow in the Amazon.
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-04-18T144216Z_01_N05544750_RTRIDST_0_USREPORT-COURT-TEA-DC.XML

US Rastafarians tried to get cannabis classified as a religious tool before it was downgraded from Class B to Class C... They lost.