Some advocates focus on the spiritual side of psychedelics as a way to decriminalize through religious liberation.
The journey through psychedelia can be one of the most important and spiritual experiences in a person's life. However, the desire to use psychedelics for spiritual reasons is often ignored when discussing the legalization of these substances.
Often the legalization of marijuana is seen as the first step to legalizing psychedelics. In the case of marijuana, we see the authorization of the use of the plant gradually expanding, starting with medical purposes and then moving to recreational use. However, in addition to medical legalization and decriminalization, there is another way of considering psychedelics: obtaining legal permission to use these substances for spiritual or religious purposes. In various traditions, psychedelic substances are considered sacred instruments used in religious rituals.
We are not talking here about the recently established marijuana or psilocybin «churches» that are based on the use of controlled substances under the protection of religion. We are talking about traditional religions that incorporate the use of psychedelics into modern rituals. In a small but growing movement, members of Abrahamic religions integrate entheogens — substances that induce spiritual experiences — into their practices and cite biblical traditions as justification for this approach.
An example of a rapidly growing encounter group is Faith+Delics, led by Adriana Kertzer, partner and co-founder of Plant Medicine Law Group. In a short period of time, the group has grown to dozens of members, attracting rabbis, priests, scholars, and practitioners from various religious communities, including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. In addition, there is the Jewish Entheogenic Society on Facebook, with about 1,000 members. Also worth mentioning is the Jewish Psychedelic Summit, where dozens of speakers presented papers on ancient psychedelic rituals, religious foundations, Jewish shamanism and contemporary practices.
For more than half of the past decade, many stakeholders have participated in prayer circles and rituals utilizing various entheogens such as magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, MDMA, cannabis, and others. One underground Hasidic guide who practiced herbal medicine in the Jewish community expressed the view that these plants are teachers and healers, helping the Jewish people heal from the traumas they have experienced over the millennia. He noted that working with medicinal plants such as ayahuasca has led to a change in many community members' relationships with their spouses, coworkers, God, religion, and themselves. He added that rituals using these plants can be practiced not only in a pagan context, but can be integrated into sacred spaces of all religions.
For more than half of the past decade, many stakeholders have participated in prayer circles and rituals utilizing various entheogens such as magic mushrooms, ayahuasca, MDMA, cannabis, and others. One underground Hasidic guide who practiced herbal medicine in the Jewish community expressed the view that these plants are teachers and healers, helping the Jewish people heal from the traumas they have experienced over the millennia. He noted that working with medicinal plants such as ayahuasca has led to a change in many community members' relationships with their spouses, coworkers, God, religion, and themselves. He added that rituals using these plants can be practiced not only in a pagan context, but can be integrated into sacred spaces of all religions.
This is just one of the New Age spiritual approaches to traditional religions. Archaeological findings indicate the presence of cannabis at sacred biblical sites in the ancient city of Tel Arad in Israel. Scientific studies also point to the use of acacia wood (containing DMT) and other entheogens in Israeli smoking rituals, as well as the use of cannabis in the holy anointing oil of Christ.
The question remains, however: is there legal protection for those who integrate psychedelics into their contemporary practice of traditional religion? And if not, could providing religious protection be another step toward repealing prohibition?
To begin with, the First Amendment protects religious practices and beliefs. Religious freedom is considered the primary and first freedom protected by the First Amendment. Congress does not have the power to establish or favor any particular religion. This means that no one needs to go to the government to obtain permission for religious use of any substance, as there is no official department of religious affairs. However, if an entheogen plays a central role in your religious practice, it should not be an accidental circumstance, but a true sacrament, as Gary Smith, general counsel at Peyote Way Church of God and founding partner of Guidant, a law firm specializing in cannabis and herbal medicine issues, explains.
The question remains, however: is there legal protection for those who integrate psychedelics into their contemporary practice of traditional religion? And if not, could providing religious protection be another step toward repealing prohibition?
To begin with, the First Amendment protects religious practices and beliefs. Religious freedom is considered the primary and first freedom protected by the First Amendment. Congress does not have the power to establish or favor any particular religion. This means that no one needs to go to the government to obtain permission for religious use of any substance, as there is no official department of religious affairs. However, if an entheogen plays a central role in your religious practice, it should not be an accidental circumstance, but a true sacrament, as Gary Smith, general counsel at Peyote Way Church of God and founding partner of Guidant, a law firm specializing in cannabis and herbal medicine issues, explains.
Take, for example, the excavations at Tel Arad, where marijuana and incense were found on an altar at the entrance to the «Holy of Holies» of the Jewish temple. Could this be an indication that modern Judaism should include the use of cannabis? Perhaps. If historical precedent can be confirmed, then this could be an argument. Otherwise, what is needed is for proponents of the idea to come together in the Jewish community with arguments that cannabis is central to their religious practice. Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), the federal government must prove a compelling interest in regulating the practice. Smith adds that a connection between practitioners of old-world religion and entheogens can be established with or without historical evidence; what matters is that these people come together in a «sincere religious context (whatever that means)» as he notes.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) prohibits the federal government from «substantially burden an individual in the exercise of religion, even if that burden results from a rule of general applicability». In other words, even if a substance like ayahuasca is federally illegal, groups that use it for «sincere» religious purposes can get protection under RFRA. But proving the sincerity of a religious practice is a different feat. The catch-22 is that for anyone seeking this religious freedom, until a court rules that the practice complies with RFRA, there will be the omnipresent possibility of discrimination or even prosecution.
The legal use of psychedelic substances in religious ceremonies remains uncertain, except for religious exemptions granted by the Church of the Indies (NAC), the Uniao do Vegetal (UDV) and Santo Daime churches, which use peyote and ayahuasca, respectively.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) prohibits the federal government from «substantially burden an individual in the exercise of religion, even if that burden results from a rule of general applicability». In other words, even if a substance like ayahuasca is federally illegal, groups that use it for «sincere» religious purposes can get protection under RFRA. But proving the sincerity of a religious practice is a different feat. The catch-22 is that for anyone seeking this religious freedom, until a court rules that the practice complies with RFRA, there will be the omnipresent possibility of discrimination or even prosecution.
The legal use of psychedelic substances in religious ceremonies remains uncertain, except for religious exemptions granted by the Church of the Indies (NAC), the Uniao do Vegetal (UDV) and Santo Daime churches, which use peyote and ayahuasca, respectively.
Ismail Ali, policy and advocacy advisor at the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), notes that UDV and Santo Daime are syncretic religions that combine elements of other religions. They include Christian components, although they use ayahuasca, while NAC is somewhat church-based. According to Ali, this makes it likely that an exception for the entheogenic community would be obtained.
However, creating an entheogenic practice based on an established religion is not easy. According to Ali, members of a religious community may need approval from religious leaders and demonstrate a level of sustained practice and tradition using entheogens.
«It's like you're creating another sect [of an established religion]»
However, creating an entheogenic practice based on an established religion is not easy. According to Ali, members of a religious community may need approval from religious leaders and demonstrate a level of sustained practice and tradition using entheogens.
«It's like you're creating another sect [of an established religion]»
— explains Serena Wu, founding partner of Plant Medicine Law Group.
«It's a tricky situation here: there has to be something unique about this particular religious practice that is different from traditional Jewish practice».
But then the question arises: why include entheogens in one's religious practice if there are people who practice the same religion but don't feel the need to do so? If it's not just a matter of circumventing the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Wu explains, a person would need to clearly articulate how entheogen use applies to their religious practice.
«The court will check to see if you just came up with the idea now, like some pot churches, and start questioning whether you have a sincerely held belief».
Short of expanding RFRA's protections or changing the list of certain entheogens, a religious group can use RFRA as a defense to a criminal prosecution, such as the DEA's confiscation of ordinances. «There are other mechanisms for offensive litigation, such as filing for declaratory or injunctive relief to get the court to say what your rights are and possibly issue an order prohibiting the federal government from violating your rights» — Wu says.
Complaints of this type have been filed in the UDV and Santo Daime cases. The Church of the Eagle and Condor, in cooperation with Chacruna, is now using a new strategy, she explains, to deal with cases where ayahuasca has been confiscated by Customs and Border Patrol at the border. The church will, among other things, file Freedom of Information Act requests to find out what happened to the confiscated ayahuasca and establish a legal process to return the sacraments to the churches.
Indeed, the DEA is another hurdle that religious groups may have to overcome in trying to obtain legal protection. The DEA's CSA exemption process is difficult, as many advocates believe the agency has no right to get involved at all, deciding what is a religion and what is not. «The main thing to know is that in order to apply [to the DEA for an exemption], you have to say that your use of the substance is necessary for your practice, with the key word being necessity. Yet you also have to stop using it while you wait for the DEA to respond. The paradox here is quite obvious» — Ali says.
If the substance is so necessary, an observant religious group won't be able to stop and wait for a permit, because by suspending use, they'll show that the entheogen isn't so necessary after all. Some advocates even argue that this process is unconstitutional because it would require a group or individual to self-disclose illegal activity with no guarantee of an outcome, thus exposing people to more risk rather than less.
In general, administrative procedures have an exhaustion of remedies requirement in the law, Ali explains, showing that all available remedies have been tried before judgments are available. Thus, if there is an available remedy, such as the DEA process, if it is legal, the courts will not necessarily hear the case unless the group is first denied that process. What makes the situation frustrating, however, is that the DEA simply does not respond to the request (which some believe is an all too common agency strategy), thereby deterring the group from proceeding further without a formal waiver.
The bottom line, however, is that «the need for religion is stronger than the goals of the CSA» — Ali says. But in the case of old-world religion, its members may first have to prove why entheogens are so important in practice now, when such rituals have been dormant for the past several thousand years.
The bottom line, however, is that «the need for religion is stronger than the goals of the CSA» — Ali says. But in the case of old-world religion, its members may first have to prove why entheogens are so important in practice now, when such rituals have been dormant for the past several thousand years.
With the emerging evidence for the inclusion of psychedelics in modern Abrahamic religious practice, it may become easier to prove that these substances are indeed central and essential: Indeed, in the seven-plus years of Madison's accounts of the overlap between religion and psychedelics, we I have observed that for those who would otherwise not practice religion at all — including people who grew up in secular environments and lacked religious inspiration, as well as those who fled more rigid orthodoxies — psychedelic spirituality through ayau «A lot of people resist their religion» — says the underground herbal medicine guide. «But I feel this medicine is incredibly healing, helping us to shed our inherited baggage, overcome these obstacles, and connect with the Creator».