United States
In the United States, court battles over ritual use of ayahuasca have mostly been fought by the UDV, and practitioners of the Santo Daime doctrine are watching these events closely. So far, UDV has been able to continue practicing legally thanks to Supreme Court decisions that soundly rejected attempts by the government to prohibit it. As of September 2008, UDV is in negotiations with the Drug Enforcement Administration regarding regulation of their use of ayahuasca.
In September 2008, the three Oregon Santo Daime churches filed suit in federal court to gain legal status. Their trial ended January 23, 2009. The case, Church of the Holy Light of the Queen b. Mukasey, presided over by Judge Owen M. Panner, is ruled in favor of the Santo Daime church.
In March 2009, Panner found that the use of hallucinogenic tea by members of such churches was legal, issuing an injunction barring the government from penalizing them for its consumption.
Read more about this topic: Santo Daime, Legal Status
Famous quotes related to united states:
“I thought it altogether proper that I should take a brief furlough from official duties at Washington to mingle with you here to-day as a comrade, because every President of the United States must realize that the strength of the Government, its defence in war, the army that is to muster under its banner when our Nation is assailed, is to be found here in the masses of our people.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“The United States is not a nation to which peace is a necessity.”
—Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)