US Legality Psychoactive-Using Churches under RFRA

DEA

• DEA Guidelines for Petition for Religious Exemptions to Controlled Substances ACT (CSA) (2009)

“Meyers” Religious Critieria

• “Meyers” Religious Critieria: Meyers vs US Decision (1996)

Church of Reality

• DEA Decision on Religious Exemption Petition by Church of Reality (2008)
• Appellate Court Upholds DEA Denial of Religious Exemption to Church of Reality (2010)

Gustavo Vargas

• Gustavo Vargas Sentencing Judgement (2018)
• Gustavo Vargas Motion of Sentencing Recommendations (2018)
• Criminal Charges Against Gustavo Vargas – Tampa, Florida (2018)
• Criminal Complaint Report about Gustavo Vargas – Tampa, Florida (2017)

Ayahuasca Healings

• Ayahuasca Healing DEA Exemption Request Documents (2016)

Soul Quest

• DEA/DOJ & Soul Quest Motion to Stay Proceedings for 120 Day w/ Exhibit A: DEA New Letter to Soul Quest (June, 2020)
• Letter from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to Soul Quest  (Aug. 2016)
• Soul Quest’s response to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (Dec. 2016)
• DEA’s Response to Soul Quest Regarding Exemption Criteria and Questions About DEA’s Authority (2016)

Texts by Gayle Hiphpine

• The ‘Legality’ of Ayahuasca Churches Under the Oklevueha Native American Church,” by Gayle
 Highpine, bialabate.net, December 12, 2015.
• Is Ayahuasca Actually Illegal in the United States?, by Gayle Highpine, bialabate.net, December 22, 2015.
• The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the DEA Exemption Process, and Ayahuasca Healings.” by Gayle Highpine, bialabate.net, April 3, 2016.United States v. Meyers (1996)

Diverse Texts

• Let the Buyer Beware: Advertised ‘Ayahuasca Healing Retreats’ Are Not Legal in the United States, by Anonymous, bialabate.net, December 4, 2015.
• Don’t believe the hype about the ‘Legal Ayahuasca USA Church’ going around Facebook—it’s not legal, it’s dangerous, and here’s why,” by J. Hamilton Hudson, bialabate.net, Dec. 7, 2015.
• Pandora’s Brew: The New Ayahuasca. Blog posts published by Christina Callicot at Savage Minds – Part 1 to 7 (2017)
• 7 Best Practices for Ayahuasca Legal Harm Reduction by Robert Heffernan (2017)

ONAC

• Letter from ONAC Lawyer Matthew S. Pappas to ONAC Council of Elders Explaining His Resignation and Criticisms of James Mooney and ONAC (May 2016)
• Amicus Curiae from various Native American Churches against the Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC) led by James Warren ‘Flaming Eagle’ Mooney (2014)
• National Council Does Not Condone Faux Native American Churches or Marijuana Use, by Native American Churches, Indian Country Today, Feb. 18, 2016.
• Pot and Pretendians: ONAC Rebuttal, by Oklevueha Native American Church, Indian Country Today, Dec. 29, 2015.