New Developments on the Legal Status of Ayahuasca in the United States

A Conversation with Sean McAllister, Martha Hartney and Rob Heffernan

As the Psychedelic Renaissance swiftly unfolds, the legal landscape is changing with it. Martha and Sean will discuss the state of the sacrament from a legal standpoint, update us on two important ayahuasca cases in federal court, Soul Quest and Arizona Yage Assembly, and what the road ahead may look like for the plant medicine community in the US. Martha and Sean have been seeking more governmental transparency from the DEA, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security (Customs) around the religious exemption of ayahuasca under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Working on behalf of the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, with Chacruna’s support, they have utilized the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to learn more about the government’s posture toward ayahuasca. They will share more details about their findings including the large number of seizures of ayahuasca during 2020. It is hoped that this presentation will give us a better picture of what we can expect from our government and how we can best show up as practitioners and participants to reduce stigmatization and support the legalization of plant medicines in the United States.

Sean McAllister is one of nation’s leading drug policy reform lawyers. Sean has pioneered legal and business strategies for entrepreneurs in the cannabis, hemp, recycling, and psychedelics spaces. His work in the psychedelic space has included advising religious organizations on their rights to use psychedelics as sacraments, seeking DEA licensure for a public company manufacturing psilocybin for clinical trials, helping psychedelic assisted therapists understand the risks of these activities, advising on what is legal in decriminalized cities, and understanding new state regulatory laws like Oregon’s Measure 109. Sean’s work on drug policy reform goes back 25 years, starting on the Colorado Prison Moratorium Campaign in the mid-1990s. From 2004-2012, Sean served the chair of the Board of Directors of the organization that ran the Colorado recreational marijuana legalization campaign that voters ultimately approved. Sean has also worked on broader drug policy reform issues as a member of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Sean is an appointed member of the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Policy Review Panel, which was the first ballot initiative in the U.S. decriminalize the possession, cultivation and storage of psilocybin. Sean has been a legal advisor to other cities and states considering psychedelic decriminalization efforts, including the Decriminalize California campaign in 2020 and Decriminalize Seattle in 2021. Sean is a member of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants.

Martha J. Hartney is an attorney in Colorado, in private practice in the area of estate planning. She holds a J.D. from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. Her Boulder firm, Hartney Law, is a regional favorite, receiving the “Best of the West/Law Firm” award six years in a row. She was named a SuperLawyers Rising Star in 2020 and has published and presented on the art and science of death and dying for the last ten years in her professional capacity. Martha is a certified death doula through the Conscious Dying Institute and the first attorney to be admitted to the California Institute of Integral Studies prestigious Certificate in Psychedelic Therapies and Research program. Martha is also a trained mediator and has served as a guardian ad litem for the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Clinic. Martha came to the plant medicine path later in life—becoming a drug policy reform advocate after witnessing the healing of many people who had encountered our great allies. She champions the religious use of plant medicines; and advocates for excellent standards-of-care, best practices, integration work, and weaving modern trauma science into the powerful indigenous practices being stewarded into the western world. Martha lives with her partner and has two sons who are now grown and in college. She is a member of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants.

Rob Heffernan is an independent researcher and activist who has been involved in the vegetalismo, Santo Daime and other syncretic traditions since 2000. He has been involved with legal issues and organizing efforts in the Santo Daime and ayahuasca community for the last 12 years and has recently begun to speak and write about these matters publicly. He is a Chair of the Board of Directors of the Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines and part of Chacruna’s Council for the Protection of Sacred Plants. He is involved with integration work as a certified Shamanic Breathwork facilitator and a certified Integrative Sound and Music Practitioner (sound healing). This is complimented by a long term involvement with Buddhist Dharma. He has recently begun to write and speak about the integration of Buddhist Dharma and medicine work.

DEA Denies Soul Quest’s Religious Exemption: Impacts on the Ayahuasca Community

Ayahuasca FOIA Requests Reveal Increased Ayahuasca Seizures, Lack of Due Process and Government Secrecy

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Problematic Process for Religious Exemption for Use of Prohibited Psychoactive Substances

DEA and the Religious Exemption: A Fox Guarding the Henhouse

This talk will be recorded and immediately available for rewatch for all attendees.

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