News (Media Awareness Project) - US NM: Attorney: Tea's Drug Found In Many Plants |
| Title: | US NM: Attorney: Tea's Drug Found In Many Plants |
| Published On: | 2001-11-01 |
| Source: | Santa Fe New Mexican (NM) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-25 05:42:02 |
ATTORNEY: TEA'S DRUG FOUND IN MANY PLANTS
ALBUQUERQUE - An attorney for a Santa Fe-based religious organization
brought to federal court on Wednesday two potted plants that she said
contain hallucinogenic compounds.
Nancy Hollander, representing O Centro Espirta Beneficiente Uniao do
Vegetal, or UDV, said the phalaris grass and San Pedro cactus were purchased
recently at two Albuquerque nurseries.
She said the plants contain, respectively, dimethyltryptamine - or DMT - and
mescaline, and questioned a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent why
no effort has been made to confiscate them.
Hollander is trying to get a preliminary injunction blocking the federal
government from interfering with the group's practice of drinking a tea
called hoasca that contains small amounts of DMT.
Arroyo Hondo resident Jeffrey Bronfman, president of the U.S. chapter of
UDV, and other church members say hoasca should be considered a religious
sacrament, like the peyote used by members of the Native American Church.
The DEA and other federal agencies confiscated 30 gallons of the tea from
Bronfman's office in Santa Fe on May 21, 1999. No one has been charged with
a crime in the case.
The evidentiary hearing before U.S. District Judge James Parker began on
Oct. 22, and is expected to continue through Friday. A full trial could
follow.
On Wednesday, Hollander cross-examined DEA agent Terrence Woodworth who said
he found numerous solicitations for phalaris grass, San Pedro cactus and
other hallucinogenic plants on the Internet, including on eBay.
Woodworth said he was not aware of DEA efforts to confiscate these plants or
charge those offering them for sale.
Elizabeth Goiten, an assistant U.S. attorney handling the government
defense, declined to stipulate that the plants sitting on the plaintiff's
table in the courtroom actually contained DMT or mescaline. But she agreed
that some plants of those varieties did contain these hallucinogens.
Parker urged the two attorneys to get together after court recessed to work
out a stipulation so the plants and sales receipts from the nurseries can be
introduced as evidence.
ALBUQUERQUE - An attorney for a Santa Fe-based religious organization
brought to federal court on Wednesday two potted plants that she said
contain hallucinogenic compounds.
Nancy Hollander, representing O Centro Espirta Beneficiente Uniao do
Vegetal, or UDV, said the phalaris grass and San Pedro cactus were purchased
recently at two Albuquerque nurseries.
She said the plants contain, respectively, dimethyltryptamine - or DMT - and
mescaline, and questioned a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent why
no effort has been made to confiscate them.
Hollander is trying to get a preliminary injunction blocking the federal
government from interfering with the group's practice of drinking a tea
called hoasca that contains small amounts of DMT.
Arroyo Hondo resident Jeffrey Bronfman, president of the U.S. chapter of
UDV, and other church members say hoasca should be considered a religious
sacrament, like the peyote used by members of the Native American Church.
The DEA and other federal agencies confiscated 30 gallons of the tea from
Bronfman's office in Santa Fe on May 21, 1999. No one has been charged with
a crime in the case.
The evidentiary hearing before U.S. District Judge James Parker began on
Oct. 22, and is expected to continue through Friday. A full trial could
follow.
On Wednesday, Hollander cross-examined DEA agent Terrence Woodworth who said
he found numerous solicitations for phalaris grass, San Pedro cactus and
other hallucinogenic plants on the Internet, including on eBay.
Woodworth said he was not aware of DEA efforts to confiscate these plants or
charge those offering them for sale.
Elizabeth Goiten, an assistant U.S. attorney handling the government
defense, declined to stipulate that the plants sitting on the plaintiff's
table in the courtroom actually contained DMT or mescaline. But she agreed
that some plants of those varieties did contain these hallucinogens.
Parker urged the two attorneys to get together after court recessed to work
out a stipulation so the plants and sales receipts from the nurseries can be
introduced as evidence.
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