União do Vegetal
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União do Vegetal (O Centro Espírita Beneficiente União do Vegetal church or UDV) is a church which is known fundamentally for its usage of Hoasca (or Ayahuasca) as a sacramental entheogenic herbal tea.
Origins
Claiming roots as far back as the 10th century BC, members feel the movement then lay dormant before reappearing in Incan Peru in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. UDV as it is known today however was "re-created" on July 22 1961 in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil by the rubber-tapper José Gabriel da Costa (now known as Mestre Gabriel).Mestre Gabriel was born in 1922 in Coração de Maria, a town near Feira de Santana. Uneducated, he left home at the age of 20 to become a rubber tapper in the Amazon region, thereby coming into contact with the South American Indians of Bolivia and [Caboclos] of Brazil, experiencing their Ayahuasca. Inspired by his visions, he founded UDV. Mestre Gabriel died in 1971.
In Brazil, a number of modern religious movements based on the use of Ayahuasca have emerged, the most famous of them being Santo Daime and the União do Vegetal, they are considered to be animist, shamanist spiritism mixed with Christian imagery. Both Santo Daime and União do Vegetal now have members and churches throughout the world. UDV has over 10,000 members, about 130 of which are in the United States, with a branch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. UDV members participate in ritual consumption of Ayahuasca in a communal setting.
U.S. Supreme Court
Tea made from Banisteriopsis caapi, (a necessary component of Hoasca), as well as a plant containing Dimethyltryptamine, not being native to the United States, was shipped to the American membership from Brazil. U.S. Customs agents seized a shipment and raided a UDV member's home, finding over 30 gallons in 1999. The UDV sued, seeking exemption from the Controlled Substances Act.
In December of 2004, the Supreme Court lifted a stay thereby allowing the church to use Hoasca tea in their Christmas services that year. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the case on 1 November 2005.
On 21 February 2006 the Supreme Court issued its ruling on the case (See Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, Docket #04-1084). The court unanimously ruled that usage of the ayahuasca tea as part of UDV religious ceremonies cannot be prosecuted by the federal government, in accordance with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion in the case, the second opinion he has authored as a member of the Court. The case was remanded to a lower court for further proceedings.
DMT is classified in the United States as a Schedule I drug.
See also
References
- Grob C.S. et al (1996) "Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, a Plant Hallucinogen used in Ritual Context in Brazil" draft paper for the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
External links
- [Religious Liberty Gets Boost in Hallucinogenic Tea Case]
- [(2006) US Supreme Court Decision]
- [(2004) USA: Supreme Court Rules in Favour of União do Vegetal] - Associated press excerpt
- [Court to weigh hallucinogenic tea] - Newz.in News That Matter
- [The Hoasca Project]
- [Uniao do Vegetal - History and Structure]
- [udv.org]
- [PDF transcript of New Mexico court trial]
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