IFAS |
Freedom Writer |
January/February 1989 | peyote.html
Peyote OK'd in Indian rites
This past October, the Oregon State Supreme Court ruled that the use of the hallucinogenic drug peyote in the Native American Church is protected by the First Amendment. Peyote is a cactus which contains the illegal drug mescaline. Peyote is used in religious ceremonies by the Native American Church.
The case concerned two drug counselors who lost their jobs for using peyote
during Native American Church religious rites. The court ruled that by
denying these men jobless benefits, the state violated the men's First
Amendment right to freely practice their religion.
© 1998 Institute for First Amendment Studies, Inc.