Marek, This is really fascinating. You must be in hog heaven with this case! I thought that Indians had fairly recently lost this right in court so I will be interested to hear about how this turns out. For one single tax dollar to go towards keeping Indians from eating peyote, or keeping Rastafarians from smoking weed makes me crazy.
I am interested in your thoughts about what states you think they are accessing with Peyote. If it makes more sense please answer off line. You are doing God's work here...wait a second the atheist oversight committee just handed me a paper...OK, got it... you are doing great work here! --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Marek Reavis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > One of the cool things about where I live (California Lost Coast) is how the native > populations here in the Northwest were last on the list to be assailed by the Americans. > Consequently, their cultures are much more intact, even though, of course, they've been > tremendously impacted. > > Just Friday, I had a client in my office, a young Hupa man, and he was asking about some > photographs I have on a bulletin board of yagyas being performed on the Ganges and in > some Kanchi temples, and he commented with obvious pride about how his tribe (and the > others in this area) have strong ritual customs, too. Earlier this year I had a case where my > client was charged with possession of controlled substances for sale because of all this > peyote he had (both growing buttons and jars of liquid). At the preliminary hearing we > were able to assert the affirmative defense of his membership within the Native American > Church (the Supreme Court has ruled that the ceremonial and religious use of peyote by > indigineous peoples is constitutionally protected). > > It was such a treat to listen to my client testify about his participation in the ceremonies of > the church and his clear and deeply held beliefs re peyote. The deputy D.A., who was > prosecuting the case, was trying her best to discredit my guy and cast his case as simple > (and sordid) drug dealing but the guy was so clear and so real that her attempts to sully > him looked foolish. We're still waiting for the judge to sign the order for the return of his > property; the law enforcement agency that still has possession is fighing to destroy all the > peyote rather than return it; these guys hate to return what they can only see as "drugs". > > ** > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, new.morning <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > 40,000,000 Native Americans GONE GONE GONE in 565 years of genocide by > > > WHITE PEOPLE. > > > > > > > Actually, a lot of the research in the last 20 years points towards > > massive deaths, up to 90% of the native population, prior to Jamestown > > -- from disease for which the native americans had virtually no > > resistance -- spread from earlier traders. This along with growing > > evidence that the native populations in 1491 (the name of a great book > > on the topic) were far larger than those in europe at the time, and in > > many regards more sophisticated. And these sophisticate populations > > spanned both Americas. If the native population had not literally been > > decimated (cut down to 1/10th)prior to the arrival of the first major > > settlements, then white dominance probably would never have occurred. > > And America would / could today be predominantly native american. > > >
