Church Wants Peyote Use to Remain Legal
Native American Church leaders voted unanimously Saturday to fight to keep peyote use a legal part of religious ceremonies.
“Even though we are different tribes and we have different traditions and practices, I believe every one of us here goes back to the peyote religion,” said Lolita Spencer, service officer for the Native American Church of Navajoland.
About 30 church leaders, representing a quarter-million members, met to discuss how to keep peyote use legal.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled that members of the Native American Church have no constitutional right to take peyote during religious ceremonies. The high court said states have the right to ban peyote use.
More than 20 states allow peyote use in religious ceremonies under a federal law that made peyote a controlled substance, but allowed exemptions for American Indians.
The Supreme Court ruling upheld the denial of unemployment benefits to two drug counselors fired for using peyote in an American Indian religious ceremony.
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