....if it's illegible, sorry, but the basic story of it is...
"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." (beginning of article in NYTimes by Linda Greenhouse)
Anyway, I know many people involved with similar South American churches, and so I follow the story with interest and wish luck to those fighting for their religious freedom (even if a whole lot of people find their religion very strange). If you're interested in more information,check out wikipedia's article on ayahuasca, which is how the referenced "hoasca" is generally called.
Have a nice day.
--C
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