GROUP WINS HALLUCINOGENIC TEA CASE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A federal judge has ruled that a Brazilian
religious group that uses hallucinogenic tea in its ceremonies should get
back a shipment of the substance seized by U.S. Customs agents.

U.S. District Judge James Parker found that church members' rights under the
federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act were being violated by withholding
the tea.

Jeffrey Bronfman, president of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do
Vegetal, or UDV, sued the U.S. Department of Justice after the Customs
Bureau and the Drug Enforcement Agency seized 30 gallons (114 liters) of
hoasca tea from his Santa Fe office in 1999. No one was arrested in the
raid.

UDV used to hold ceremonies near Bronfman's home southeast of Santa Fe,
where members consumed the tea that contains N.N. dimethyltryptamine, or
DMT, a controlled substance.

The tea is brewed from plants found only in the Amazon River Basin. The
religion originated in Brazil and its U.S. operations are based in Santa Fe.

In a 61-page opinion written Aug. 12, Parker rejected freedom of religion
and equal protection claims raised by the church.

But he found that the government had failed to prove that the tea was
dangerous.

Parker granted the UDV a preliminary injunction, but U.S. Justice Department
lawyers could seek a stay while they appeal the case. It was not immediately
clear whether government attorneys would appeal.

Both sides will meet Sept. 3 in the federal court in Albuquerque to
determine how the religious group would be compensated.