Court allows hallucinogenic tea for religious use

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 21 unanimously sided with members of a small New Mexico sect’s bid to use hallucinogenic tea in religious rituals. Chief Justice John Roberts, in his first religious freedom case, said the sect’s right to religious expression and practice superseded federal drug control laws that were used to confiscate the tea, known as hoasca.

The court’s ruling served as a strong endorsement of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which requires the government to show a “compelling interest” before it can limit religious freedom. Roberts rejected arguments that the use of hoasca threatened the drug law and said the “circumscribed, sacramental use” of the drug for religious purposes could be allowed.