Justices Weighing Narcotics Policy Against Needs of a Church - New York Times

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Justices Weighing Narcotics Policy Against Needs of a Church - New York Times: "Justices Weighing Narcotics Policy Against Needs of a Church
By LINDA GREENHOUSE

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - The Bush administration tried to persuade the Supreme Court on Tuesday that federal narcotics policy should trump the religious needs of members of a small South American church who want to import a hallucinogenic tea that is central to their religious rituals.

Two lower federal courts have barred the government from seizing the sacred drink, known as hoasca tea, which is brewed from indigenous Brazilian plants that do not grow in the United States. The tea's hallucinogenic effect comes from a chemical, dimethyltryptamine, usually known as DMT, which occurs naturally in the plants and is listed as a Schedule I banned substance in the federal Controlled Substances Act."