The Highest Court

Supreme Court Considers Use of Hallucinogenic Religious Tea

No, the Justices aren't pondering a change in the offerings of the Supreme Court coffee room. In this week's full-text RNS article, linked above, associate editor Kevin Eckstrom looks at the efforts of a small Christian sect to import hoasca tea, which contains hallucinogens and is used in a sacramental rite. Their case was argued before the Supreme Court earlier this week.

Quote: UDV members say the tea, which is brewed in the religion's Brazilian homeland, gives them a "heightened spiritual awareness" that allows them to communicate with God. UDV compares the tea with sacramental wine used in the Christian sacrament of Communion.

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Several justices asked why hoasca should be banned when peyote -- used in Native American rituals -- is allowed. "Peyote seems to have been administered without the sky falling in," said Justice Stephen Breyer.