Editing Ayahuasca (section)

== Legal status ==
{{main|Legal status of ayahuasca by country}}

Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the [[Convention on Psychotropic Substances]]. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes, however, that the plants containing it are not subject to international control:<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.maps.org/pipermail/maps_forum/2001-March/003376.html |title=DMT – UN report |publisher=MAPS |date=2001-03-31 |access-date=2012-01-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121083150/http://www.maps.org/pipermail/maps_forum/2001-March/003376.html |archive-date=January 21, 2012 }}</ref>
{{blockquote|
The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not controlled by the Vienna Convention... Neither the crown (fruit, mescal button) of the [[Peyote]] cactus nor the roots of the plant ''Mimosa hostilis'' nor Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule 1, but only their respective principals, [[mescaline]], [[N,N-Dimethyltryptamine|DMT]], and [[psilocin]].
}}

A [[fax]] from the Secretary of the [[International Narcotics Control Board]] (INCB) to the Netherlands Ministry of Public Health sent in 2001 goes on to state that "Consequently, preparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca, are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention."<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ayahuasca/ayahuasca_law10.shtml |title=Ayahuasca Vault : Law : UNDCP's Ayahuasca Fax |publisher=Erowid.org |date=2001-01-17 |access-date=2012-01-14}}</ref>

Despite the INCB's 2001 affirmation that ayahuasca is not subject to drug control by international convention, in its 2010 Annual Report the Board recommended that governments consider controlling (i.e. criminalizing) ayahuasca at the national level. This recommendation by the INCB has been criticized as an attempt by the Board to overstep its legitimate mandate and as establishing a reason for governments to violate the human rights (i.e., religious freedom) of ceremonial ayahuasca drinkers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tupper|first1=Kenneth W.|last2=Labate|first2=Beatriz C.|title=Plants, Psychoactive Substances and the International Narcotics Control Board: The Control of Nature and the Nature of Control|journal=Human Rights & Drugs|volume=2|issue=1|pages=17–28|year=2012|access-date=2012-12-12
|url=http://www.hr-dp.org/files/2013/12/12/HRDP_Journal_Tupper_Labate.pdf}}</ref>

Under American federal law, DMT is a Schedule I drug that is illegal to possess or consume; however, certain religious groups have been legally permitted to consume ayahuasca.<ref>[https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/orangebook/orangebook.pdf orangebook.pdf] ''www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov''</ref> A court case allowing the [[União do Vegetal]] to import and use the tea for religious purposes in the United States, ''[[Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal]]'', was heard by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] on November 1, 2005; the decision, released February 21, 2006, allows the UDV to use the tea in its ceremonies pursuant to the [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]]. In a similar case in Ashland, Oregon-based Santo Daime church sued for their right to import and consume ayahuasca tea. In March 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Panner ruled in favor of the Santo Daime, acknowledging its protection from prosecution under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.<ref>{{citation |url=http://csp.org/society/docs/SantoDaimeAshland20090318.pdf |title=Ruling by District Court Judge Panner in Santo Daime case in Oregon |access-date=2012-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003151720/http://csp.org/society/docs/SantoDaimeAshland20090318.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2017 the [[Santo Daime]] Church Céu do Montréal in Canada received religious exemption to use ayahuasca as a sacrament in their rituals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chacruna.net/how-ayahuasca-church-received-religious-exemption-canada/|title=How Our Santo Daime Church Received Religious Exemption to Use Ayahuasca in Canada|last=Rochester|first=Jessica|date=2017-07-17|website=Chacruna|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-01}}</ref>

Religious use in Brazil was legalized after two official inquiries into the tea in the mid-1980s, which concluded that ayahuasca is not a recreational drug and has valid spiritual uses.<ref>More on the legal status of ayahuasca can be found in the [[Erowid]] vault on the [http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ayahuasca/ayahuasca_law.shtml legality of ayahuasca].</ref>

In France, [[Santo Daime]] won a court case allowing them to use the tea in early 2005; however, they were not allowed an exception for religious purposes, but rather for the simple reason that they did not perform chemical extractions to end up with pure DMT and harmala and the plants used were not scheduled.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060510000632/http://www.santodaime.it/Library/LAW/Francia/courdapeldeparis05_france.pdf ''Cour d'appel de Paris, 10ème chambre, section B, dossier n° 04/01888. Arrêt du 13 janvier 2005''] Court of Appeal of Paris, 10th Chamber, Section B, File No. 04/01888. Judgement of 13 January 2005</ref> Four months after the court victory, the common ingredients of ayahuasca as well as harmala were declared ''stupéfiants'', or narcotic schedule I substances, making the tea and its ingredients illegal to use or possess.<ref>''JO'', 2005-05-03. [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jopdf/common/jo_pdf.jsp?numJO=0&dateJO=20050503&numTexte=18&pageDebut=07636&pageFin=07636 ''Arrêté du 20 avril 2005 modifiant l'arrêté du 22 février 1990 fixant la liste des substances classées comme stupéfiants'' (PDF)] [Decree of 20 April 2005 amending the decree of 22 February 1990 establishing the list of substances scheduled as narcotics].</ref>

In June 2019, [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], California, decriminalized natural entheogens. The City Council passed the resolution in a unanimous vote, ending the investigation and imposition of criminal penalties for use and possession of entheogens derived from plants or fungi. The resolution states: "Practices with Entheogenic Plants have long existed and have been considered to be sacred to human cultures and human interrelationships with nature for thousands of years, and continue to be enhanced and improved to this day by religious and spiritual leaders, practicing professionals, mentors, and healers throughout the world, many of whom have been forced underground."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-oakland-magic-mushroom-legal-20190605-story.html|title=Oakland becomes 2nd U.S. city to decriminalize magic mushrooms|last=Shalby|first=Colleen|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=5 June 2019|access-date=2019-06-06}}</ref>
In January 2020, [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]], California, and in September 2020, [[Ann Arbor, Michigan|Ann Arbor]], Michigan, decriminalized natural entheogens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/santa-cruz-decriminalizes-psychedelic-mushrooms/story?id=68611065|title=Santa Cruz decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms|last=McCarthy|first=Kelly|date=2020-01-29|website=ABC News|language=en|access-date=2020-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/30/us/santa-cruz-mushrooms-psychedelics-trnd/index.html|title=Santa Cruz decriminalizes magic mushrooms and other natural psychedelics, making it the third US city to take such a step|last=Kaur|first=Harmeet|date=2020-01-30|website=CNN|access-date=2020-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Stanton|first=Ryan|date=2020-09-22|title=Ann Arbor OKs move to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, plants|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/09/ann-arbor-oks-move-to-decriminalize-psychedelic-mushrooms-plants.html|access-date=2020-09-22|website=mlive|language=en}}</ref>
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In Peru, the government is undergoing the legislation process of legalizing and regulating ayahuasca usage and monitoring ayahuasca centers. Currently (April 2010) the use of ayahuasca is not technically legal but since it is an accepted practice of Indigenous cultures in Peru, the Peruvian government is going through of the process maintaining the continuity of these cultures whilst avoiding international issues.
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