Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0222/p03s04-usju.html?s=hns

On February 22, 2006 The Christian Science Monitor reported, "American adherents of a Brazilian religious sect have won their battle to use hallucinogenic tea in their worship services. In a unanimous ruling with major implications for minority religious groups in America, the US Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the right of religious organizations to claim exemption from certain laws that undercut their ability to practice their faith. At issue was a clash between US drug laws - which ban the hallucinogenic substance in the sect's sacred tea - and a 1993 religious freedom law that requires the government to grant religious exemptions when possible... In upholding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in the context of the religious use of a banned drug, the justices said the government's desire for uniform drug control does not automatically trump religious considerations. Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts says RFRA requires the courts to consider how a government restriction impacts an individual's religious practice and to weigh it against the government's interest. The legal dispute involves the American branch of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal (UDV). The group's first US branch opened in New Mexico in 1993, and today has 130 members."