U.S. NEWS  Wall Street Journal
SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
Psychedelic Tea Brews Unease
Santa Fe Residents Fight Church's Planned Site, Say Drink Endangers Public Safety
By STEPHANIE SIMON

SANTA FE, N.M. -- A secretive religious group that fought a long legal battle for the
right to drink hallucinogenic tea in pursuit of spiritual growth now plans to build a
temple and greenhouse in a wealthy community here -- to the dismay of local
residents.

A woman in Brazil picks one of the two plants used to make the potent tea.
The church was founded in Brazil in 1961 and remains most popular there, but about
150 people in the U.S., including about 60 in Santa Fe, practice the faith, which goes
by the Portuguese name Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, or UDV.
Members say the church is based on Christian theology but also borrows from other
faiths and finds spirituality in nature.

Since the U.S. branch of the religion emerged in the late 1980s, practitioners have
imported from Brazil their sacramental tea, known as hoasca, which is brewed from
two Amazonian plants and contains the psychedelic compound dimethyltryptamine,
or DMT. The U.S. government classifies DMT as a Schedule I controlled substance,
the same designation given to heroin and marijuana. But in a unanimous ruling in
2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the UDV had the right to use hoasca in its
ceremonies.

Now, the Santa Fe branch has drawn up plans to build a greenhouse for growing
their own sacred plants, a ceremonial kitchen for brewing the tea and a 7,100-
square-foot temple, complete with a children's nursery and foot-thick walls to ensure
privacy.

Longtime resident Leslie Gum, above, shown last week with her mule Snickers, lives
down the street from the proposed temple site.
Leslie Gum photo

They are seeking a zoning change and county permits to build these facilities on 2½
acres in the Arroyo Hondo neighborhood, a secluded community of horse ranches
and million-dollar homes. The grassy lot, which sits at the entrance to the
neighborhood, is held in trust by Jeffrey Bronfman, the local leader of the UDV. He
also owns a stately private home across the street. Mr. Bronfman is a grandnephew
of Samuel Bronfman, the patriarch of the prominent Canadian family that owned
Seagram Co. and other assets.

Because the UDV is a bona fide church, it can build a house of worship almost
anywhere in the county, as long as it complies with requirements for parking, waste
disposal and the like, said Jose Larrañaga, a county case manager. UDV members
say the lot they have chosen is sacred to them -- and was consecrated by church
elders from Brazil -- because they held services there on and off during their five-
year legal battle.

Neighbors, however, say the spot is inappropriate for a church of any kind -- and
especially for one that builds its services around a psychedelic brew.
"We don't object to them using their tea. It's legal and that's fine," said Linda Spier,
who lives within sight of the proposed temple. "But it's not fine if it endangers the
health and welfare of the community."

The church's proposed temple site in Santa Fe, N.M.

She and other residents worry about traffic -- and tea-impaired drivers -- on the
winding, narrow road that leads into their neighborhood. They fear the UDV temple,
which is designed with a large gate and three flagpoles out front, would
commercialize their rural neighborhood and drive down property values.
And they worry about crime once word gets out that the greenhouse shelters
hallucinogenic plants.

"What teenage kid wouldn't be tempted?" said neighbor Jacque Dawson.
UDV members don't speak to the media. Their lawyer, Nancy Hollander, said the tea
had never been implicated in a traffic accident in the U.S. As for the greenhouse, she
said: "I'm sure they will have appropriate security."

Anyone looking to the greenhouse for an easy high would likely be disappointed, said
Richard Glen Boire, an attorney who has written extensively on psychoactive plants
and specializes in defending clients accused of using them. Mr. Boire, who has offices
in Davis, Calif., and Los Angeles, isn't associated with the UDV.

The two plants used to make hoasca tea aren't potent on their own; they must be
brewed together, Mr. Boire said. The resulting tea is quite bitter and often induces
intense vomiting and diarrhea. It causes "a significant alteration in consciousness"
that can be terrifying, Mr. Boire said.

"The average person," he added, "would find it somewhat nightmarish."
In documents filed with their land-use plan, UDV members say the tea doesn't make
them hallucinate but amplifies their concentration, "which facilitates our connection
with God."

The county's first hearing on the zoning application is slated for next month.
Neighbors have urged the county to reconsider whether a UDV temple really qualifies
as a "community service facility," the zoning designation used for churches, because
outsiders aren't allowed to participate in or even observe ceremonies. "The whole
thing is wrong. It's just wrong," said Jerry Levine, a neighbor.

But Mr. Larranaga, the county's case manager, said the UDV was legally recognized
as a legitimate church. The county doesn't require a community-service facility to
serve the entire community, he said.

UDV members have suggested that they would consider it religious persecution if
their application were denied. A rejection, one wrote in a letter to the county, would
be an affront to "my family's forefathers, who came over on the Mayflower and
fought in the Revolutionary War for our religious freedom."

Write to Stephanie Simon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A3