MAN FACES DRUG CHARGES OVER SOUTH AMERICAN JUNGLE VINES

ATLANTA (AP) -- A man from Peru faces federal drug charges for importing
jungle vines and leaves that he planned to make into tea for a religious
ceremony.

Alan Thomas Shoemaker said he uses the Peruvian jungle vine ayahuasca and
huambisa leaves to make a bitter, rust-colored tea that is part purgative
and part-hallucinogen.

South American shamans use the tea to heal the sick, bring contact with
spirits and divine the future. Shoemaker said it's part of a religious
ritual that has been used for centuries by Amazon Indians.

But federal prosecutors in Atlanta say the tea violates federal drug laws
because it contains the hallucinogen DMT, an illegal controlled substance.

Because Shoemaker imported the vines and leaves into Atlanta, he has been
indicted for illegal drug importation and possession.

Shoemaker and his son were charged in April, a year after U.S. Customs
officials at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport found three crates of
the vines and leaves aboard a flight from Peru.

Shoemaker, 49, is free on $50,000 bond and living with relatives in
Elizabethton, Tenn., but he faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors recently dismissed charges against his son in exchange for his
cooperation.

Shoemaker moved to South America 10 years ago to study shaman folklore and
healing. He considers his home to be Iquitos, Peru, a jungle city 600 miles
northeast of Lima. He has run an art gallery and a tourist business, taking
groups to Machu Pichu and into the jungle.

When asked in a brief telephone interview with The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, whether he considers himself a shaman, Shoemaker said
he does not. "A lot of people tell me I am," he said. "But I am forever a
student."

In Peru, Shoemaker became a member of a religious order with a combination
of Amazon Indian, Catholic and African tribal beliefs.

Ingesting the ayahuasca and huambisa tea causes LSD-like hallucinations as
well as heavy vomiting and diarrhea, said to be a means of spiritual
purification.

The tea has been used in religious ceremonies in Santa Fe, N.M., by a sect
known as the "Union of the Vegetable." Although no criminal charges have
been filed, federal authorities seized jungle vines and leaves from the
church. But in August, a federal judge ruled that the church members'
rights were being violated and ordered the tea returned.

The only prosecution for illegal possession of the jungle vines and leaves
occurred in 1990 in Boston, where a religious leader was acquitted of all
charges.

Shoemaker's lawyer, Page Pate of Atlanta, said his client planned to use
the tea solely in religious ceremonies.

"This is an unwarranted extension of the so-called war on drugs to a
substance that has no use as a recreational drug and doesn't pose any real
threat or danger to American society," Pate said. "Government resources
could be best used elsewhere."

U.S. Attorney Bill Duffey stands by the charges.

"This is a very dangerous hallucinogen," he said. "We will do whatever we
can to keep it out of our district and prosecute anyone who tries to bring
it in."

The Associated Press

ATLANTA -- A man from Peru faces federal drug charges for importing jungle
vines and leaves that he planned to make into tea for a religious ceremony.

Alan Thomas Shoemaker said he uses the Peruvian jungle vine ayahuasca and
huambisa leaves to make a bitter, rust-colored tea that is part purgative
and part-hallucinogen.

South American shamans use the tea to heal the sick, bring contact with
spirits and divine the future. Shoemaker said it's part of a religious
ritual that has been used for centuries by Amazon Indians.

But federal prosecutors in Atlanta say the tea violates federal drug laws
because it contains the hallucinogen DMT, an illegal controlled substance.

Because Shoemaker imported the vines and leaves into Atlanta, he has been
indicted for illegal drug importation and possession.

Shoemaker and his son were charged in April, a year after U.S. Customs
officials at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport found three crates of
the vines and leaves aboard a flight from Peru.

Shoemaker, 49, is free on $50,000 bond and living with relatives in
Elizabethton, Tenn., but he faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors recently dismissed charges against his son in exchange for his
cooperation.

Shoemaker moved to South America 10 years ago to study shaman folklore and
healing. He considers his home to be Iquitos, Peru, a jungle city 600 miles
northeast of Lima. He has run an art gallery and a tourist business, taking
groups to Machu Pichu and into the jungle.

When asked in a brief telephone interview with The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, whether he considers himself a shaman, Shoemaker said
he does not. "A lot of people tell me I am," he said. "But I am forever a
student."

In Peru, Shoemaker became a member of a religious order with a combination
of Amazon Indian, Catholic and African tribal beliefs.

Ingesting the ayahuasca and huambisa tea causes LSD-like hallucinations as
well as heavy vomiting and diarrhea, said to be a means of spiritual
purification.

The tea has been used in religious ceremonies in Santa Fe, N.M., by a sect
known as the "Union of the Vegetable." Although no criminal charges have
been filed, federal authorities seized jungle vines and leaves from the
church. But in August, a federal judge ruled that the church members'
rights were being violated and ordered the tea returned.

The only prosecution for illegal possession of the jungle vines and leaves
occurred in 1990 in Boston, where a religious leader was acquitted of all
charges.

Shoemaker's lawyer, Page Pate of Atlanta, said his client planned to use
the tea solely in religious ceremonies.

"This is an unwarranted extension of the so-called war on drugs to a
substance that has no use as a recreational drug and doesn't pose any real
threat or danger to American society," Pate said. "Government resources
could be best used elsewhere."

U.S. Attorney Bill Duffey stands by the charges.

"This is a very dangerous hallucinogen," he said. "We will do whatever we
can to keep it out of our district and prosecute anyone who tries to bring
it in."