"Party On!", say The Supremes- allow church to use hallucinogenic tea

[npincus]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCOTUS_RELIGIOUS_TEA?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-02-21-10-12-42

...deciding against Bush admin. Interesting.


WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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.

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.

The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, which has a blend of Christian beliefs and South American traditions. Members believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.

<snip>


The Bush administration had argued that the drug in the tea not only violates a federal narcotics law, but a treaty in which the United States promised to block the importation of drugs including dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT.

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. A. That's not the headline that comes with the article

B. Use of ayahuasca tea is not a "party," and connecting the practice with Bill & Tedesque stonerism is part of the very problem that got this stupid fucking prosecution to the Supreme Court to begin with.

on edit: sorry about A! Thought this was in LBN!

[wordpix2]

2. To be consistent, Supremes will have to OK marijuana for Rastifarians next