So, I just saw this article on the front page of Yahoo! saying "White House Seeks Ban on Religious Tea." Link to article, and said article will be posted at the end of this post. Apparently there is this really small church, like 8,000 members worldwide, and as a part of their religious services, they drink a hallucinogenic tea called hoasca. Now, I'm not really concerned with whether or not the church should be able to use it or not, and I'm not really concerned about the White House making a stink about it. Here is what I am wondering: I had never heard of this tea before, and so I am assuming (perhaps incorreclty) that it is rather unknown to most people, especially since it seems to be used mostly by a group of about 8,000 people. There are lots of people out there who are interested in taking mind altering drugs, myself included, and by going public with this declaration, the White House is basically advertising this psychadelic drug, which probably would have otherwise gone unoticed.
I am curious as to other peoples opinions on this. EXCEPT, please read this part, I don't want people attacking ME personally for my stance on drugs, because that is not the point of this thread. If you're against drugs, and feel that the White House did the right thing, that's fine, like I said, I don't really care about this declaration from the White House. I just think that they could possibly cause MORE people to try this drug than if they had just left the whole thing alone. Your thoughts?
Linkey:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._religious_tea
Quote:
White House Seeks Ban on Religious Tea
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to block a New Mexico church from using hallucinogenic tea that the government contends is illegal and potentially dangerous.
The appeal from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales argues that a lower court was wrong to allow the Brazil-based O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal to import and use the hoasca tea as part of its religious services.
"The court's decision has mandated that the federal government open the nation's borders to the importation, circulation and usage of a mind-altering hallucinogen and threatens to inflict irreparable harm on international cooperation in combating transnational narcotics trafficking," the filing states.
The church, which has about 140 members in the United States and 8,000 worldwide, said the herbal brew is a central sacrament in its religious practice, which is a blend of Christian beliefs and traditions rooted in the Amazon basin.
The group has won several rounds at the lower courts, most recently at the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) in November.
In December, the Supreme Court lifted a temporary stay that allowed the church to immediately use the tea after its court victories. The Justice Department (news - web sites) had argued they should be blocked from doing so until it filed a formal appeal, which it did Thursday.
If the high court agrees to hear the case, it won't be heard until next term.
The church's U.S. operations are based in Santa Fe, N.M.
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