CSP at the Supreme Court

CSP joined leading scholars in filing an amicus brief that helped secure the Supreme Court’s landmark decision affirming the right of minority religions to practice their faith.

In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the right of the União do Vegetal (UDV) to use hoasca (ayahuasca) in religious ceremonies. CSP, together with Huston Smith, Carl Ruck, Kenneth Smith, and Roger Walsh, filed an amicus curiae brief that provided historical and comparative evidence on the role of entheogens in religious practice.

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Why It Matters:

• First time the Supreme Court recognized entheogenic sacrament under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

• Validated that minority faiths deserve the same protection as mainstream religions.

• Established a legal precedent still cited today.