Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

PANNER, District Judge.

The issue is whether plaintiffs, who are followers of the Brazilian Santo Daime religion, are entitled to an exemption from the Controlled Substances Act to import and drink their sacrament, Daime tea. Because Daime tea contains the hallucinogen DMT, which is a Schedule I controlled substance, the federal government contends that it may prohibit plaintiffs’ possession and use of Daime tea regardless of its use as a sacrament in plaintiffs’ religion.

Guided by the unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court in a very…