Unless a church branch is apart of Oklevueha Native American Church, they have no protection from us. We are not sure who NHNAC is protected under but it is NOT us.

Please note that there are only two organizations off Indian Reservations that have the legal rights and authority to conduct American Native ceremonies that utilize the sacramental tea (Ayahuasca or Hoasca); 1) O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal (UDV) and 2) Oklevueha Native American Church(ONAC) and/or Blessed ONAC Independent Branch.
Let The BUYER Beware

Advertised “Ayahuasca Healing Retreats” are NOT legal in the United States

The claims of “Trinity” de Guzman and his “Ayahuasca Healing Retreats” as being “completely legal” in the United States are false. The Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed the Drug Enforcement Administration’s view that the tea known commonly as ayahuasca is a “schedule one controlled substance” under the laws of the United States. It’s unauthorized importation and distribution is considered a felony criminal act punishable by imprisonment.
Mr. Guzman and his organization’s misunderstandings seem to be rooted in the belief that because they have declared themselves to be a “Native American Church” and their use of ayahuasca is “rooted in personal healing and spiritual intentions”” they are exempt from prosecution. They would not be the first people to be incarcerated believing this fallacy to be true.

It appears their mistaken beliefs with regard to the laws of the United States are based upon a misunderstanding of an exemption for the religious use of peyote (another controlled substance) by a legitimate religious organization called the Native American Church that was established in the 1870’s. The unauthorized expropriation of that name DOES NOT make them a bona-fide Native American Church, nor provide ANY legal protection to the purveyors or purchasers of this kind of illegal activity.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (cited on the group’s website) only provides access to the court’s for those accused of violating a “generally applicable” law, in the exercise of “sincerely held” religious belief. The undeniable commercial objectives of the enterprise, as well as the fraudulent claim of religious legitimacy, would likely completely undermine Mr. Guzman and his associates’ possible defense when tested, in the context of a criminal prosecution.

Further, this brief explains that the Amici NAC organizations do not recognize the Oklevueha Church of Hawaii, Inc., as a chapter, nor do they recognize Mr. Mooney as a member
of a legitimate chapter of the Native American Church. To the extent that the claims of
Oklevueha or Mr. Mooney rest on allegations or inferences of an affiliation with the Amici
NAC organizations or with any legitimate chapter of the Native American Church, they should be rejected.

James Mooney/ONAC won a case in the Utah Supreme Court that clarified that non Indians in Utah can use peyote as part of a Native American Church. This case only applied to Utah and only to Peyote. The court ruled based on the plain language of the religious peyote excemption and found that because the text of the exemption is devoid of any reference to tribal status, they found no support for an interpretation limiting the exemption to tribal members. This language is what allows Peyote's use in any NAC church in Utah regardless of whether the participants are Indian.

ONAC and Ayahuasca Healings try to maintain that the US Supreme Court decision in the UDV Ayahuasca case applies to them. It does not. It only allowed the UDV to legally use Ayahuasca not any other plant medicine. It created a precedent that other groups can use in asking for an exemption from the DEA or going to court to force the exemption. Yet, it does not in and of itself make Ayahuasca free to use for other religious groups.

This is the core foundation of how ANY of this is possible, or legal.

There are two bills that were passed by US Congress, to protect the Religious Freedom of the Native Americans.

They are:

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)

Which is a 1993 United States federal law that “ensures that interests in religious freedom are protected.”[1]

What is religious freedom?

In simple terms, Religious Freedom is the right that we all have to practice our own religion, whatever we personally define that to be, as long as we are not infringing on another person’s rights or safety.

The second law that protects the Native American Church is:

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA)

This is a United States federal law, passed by the US Congress in 1978.

It was enacted to protect and preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians.[2]

These rights include, but are not limited to, access to sacred sites, freedom to worship through ceremonial and traditional rights, and the use and possession of objects considered sacred.

The Act requires any governmental agencies to eliminate interference with the free exercise of Native American religion.

That means, particularly pertaining to us, the government cannot interfere with our Native American Ceremonies with our sacraments & sacred plant teachers such as Ayahuasca, Peyote, San Pedro etc.

A primary reason that this Act was created is because the US Government continued to deny Native Americans their First Amendment right of “free exercise” of religion.[3][4]

So this Act was created to add further protection to Native Americans and the free exercise of their religion.

We are completely confident that we are legally protected to hold ceremonies using the sacraments of Ayahuasca and San Pedro, while also protected under the legal umbrella of the Oklevueha Native American Church. You will receive the full legal protection to sit in any of our Ceremonies by registering as a member of our Church, which is a requirement from all participants of our Ayahuasca Retreats in America.

First of all, our retreats do not cost $1497 – $1997. You have the right to contribute or donate any amount you wish to our Ayahuasca Healings Church, and the money you donate to us is not an exchange for a service, such as our Ayahuasca healing retreats. We offer our spiritual retreats as a service to the community, and to humanity, and we do so for free. Any money you donate to us is for helping us cover our operating expenses, to help us further our Spiritual Mission, and every dollar you donate to our Ministry is dedicated towards the healing of our people and our planet.

We have received many complaints about our suggested contribution range of $1,497-$1,997 for our 4-day healing retreats. To emphasize, you can contribute any amount you wish. This is nothing but a suggestion. We have an ever-increasing, and overwhelming amount of interest in our retreats and there is no way that we can accommodate everybody. That is why it is one of our highest priorities to build more Ayahuasca Healing Churches in America. Buying land in the United States requires a lot of money, and building a Healing Center & Church requires a lot of people, and of course, financial resources.

Since you have the right to contribute any amount you wish, it’s important that you also understand, with our intentions to build more spiritual healing centers around America, we depend solely on your contributions to make that a reality.

You can donate $100 if you’d like, and we never turn away anyone based only on their ability to meet the suggested contribution. For every retreat, we accept courageous, inspirational candidates regardless of whether or not they are able to meet the suggested contribution range. At the same time, we are a brand new church and ministry, and with our ambitious visions to build these healing centers near every major city in America, we currently dependent upon your generous contributions in order to meet expenses, grow and share this medicine with those who need it most.

Many have falsely claimed that our ceremonies “cost $2,000″ or that “we only serve the rich”. We find these claims to be unfair and inaccurate. We also reject comparisons to the cost of a retreat in Peru as unfair and unrealistic. Expenses to run a center in Peru, for land, food, staff, medicine, everything about it, are significantly lower than they are in the United States. The costs, therefore, required to open and maintain a Church (analogous to a Peruvian retreat center, let alone build more Churches) are significantly higher in the US than in South America.

To make this medicine and healing available to everybody, and not just those who can meet our suggested contribution range, we also offer a scholarship program for those who are severely financially constrained. You can apply for the Scholarship program by clicking here.

Unfortunately, we are not able to extend the scholarship beyond a minimum requested contribution of $500, in order to cover our expenses to run our Ayahuasca Church

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
______________________________
No. 14-15143
______________________________
OKLEVUEHA NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF HAWAII, INC.;
MICHAEL REX "RAGING BEAR" MOONEY,
Appellants,
v.
ERIC H. HOLDER, JR. as U.S. Attorney General;
MICHELE LEONHART, as Acting Administrator of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration;
EDWARD H. KUBO, JR., as U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii,
Appellees,
_________________________________________
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AND BRIEF OF AMICI
CURIAE THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NATIVE AMERICAN
CHURCHES, THE NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH OF NORTH
AMERICA, THE AZEE' BEE NAHAGHA OF DINE NATION, THE
NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH, STATE OF OKLAHOMA, AND
THE NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH, STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA,
IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEES
_________________________________________


RELEVANCE TO THE DISPOSITION OF THIS CASE
Amici NAC organizations respectfully submit that the filing of the
accompanying brief in support of Appellees is relevant to the disposition of
this case. The brief is intended to provide specialized expertise and
perspectives regarding the history the NAC, including the origins and
purpose of legal protections for the sacramental use of peyote by the Native
American Church, that should be of assistance to the Court in considering
this case. As the District Court noted, the district court’s opinion notes that
Oklevueha and Mooney allege that their use of marijuana is protected by
their relationship with the “Native American Church,” a relationship that is
not substantiated by the record. Oklevueha and Mooney make similar
arguments in their opening brief before this court.

Urging affirmance, this brief explains clearly that the religion of the
Native American Church neither requires nor permits the use of marijuana
for religious purposes, and that never once in its long history of advocacy for
religious liberties have the Amici NAC organizations sought legal protection
for the use of marijuana. Further, this brief explains that the Amici NAC
organizations do not recognize the Oklevueha Church of Hawaii, Inc., as a
chapter, nor do they recognize Mr. Mooney as a member of a legitimate
chapter of the Native American Church. To the extent that the claims of
Oklevueha or Mr. Mooney rest on allegations or inferences of an affiliation
with the Amici NAC organizations or with any legitimate chapter of the
Native American Church, they should be rejected.
These arguments are intended to supplement, without repetition, those
articulated in the Appellees’ response brief. Accordingly, the Amici NAC
organizations respectfully move for leave to file the accompanying brief in
support of Appellees.

As I see it, being overzealous doesn't harm anyone and may help people realize they need to be more cautious than perhaps they'd considered.

Perhaps an org is in yellow until a member is harmed as direct result of their practice. In which case, ONAC belongs there if I'm not incorrect.

I just escaped an art retreat that was more a cult recruitment

Legal hurdles

So how do they get away with essentially selling a Schedule I drug to the public?

To host the retreats without fear of the DEA showing up, de Guzman and Shackman had their retreat center become a non-denominational branch of the Oklevueha Native American Church (ONAC). According to the ONAC’s website, the organization, founded in 2007, merges the spiritual traditions of the Lakota Sioux Nation and Okelvueha Seminole, members of which use peyote, a cactus plant with psychedelic properties, as a sacrament in their traditional ceremonies.

The ONAC is federally protected under legal precedents like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which was passed to preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of Native Americans.

According to de Guzman, the laws protecting the Native American Church and its traditional ceremonies would also extend to Ayahuasca Healings and prevent intervention by law enforcement.

Others are skeptical about de Guzman’s claims that the retreats are legally protected, and say Ayahuasca Healings’ clients are putting themselves at risk of prosecution.

They are still rolling with these false claims




http://www.seattleglobal...delic-drug-retreat/46695

There is a growing trend in the United States, of organizations adopting the name “Native American Church” as a means of trying to obtain the protection of federal law which was established by the government to recognize and protect the legitimate indigenous religions that have prospered on the North American continent since long before European settlers arrived.

In the case of the Peyote Religion, archaeological and ethnographic evidence demonstrates its presence in North America for more than 10,000 years. However, organizations and individuals claiming protection under the umbrella of these organizations want to capitalize on this ancient practice despite having no connection to it whatsoever.

Some of these illegitimate organizations, comprised of non-Native people, are now claiming that marijuana, ayahuasca and other substances are part of Native American Church theology and practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. We, the National Council of Native American Churches are now stepping forward to advise the public that we do not condone the activities of these illegitimate organizations.

The National Council of Native American Churches consists of legitimate, indigenous member organizations that include the Native American Church of North America, the Azzee’ Bee Nahaga of Dine Nation, the Native American Church of the State of Oklahoma the Native American Church of the State of South Dakota, and invited Leaders of the Consejo Regional Wixarika of Mexico. We member organizations of the National Council speak for all of our chapters and the individual members of the chapters on this matter of national importance.

Federal laws protecting legitimate, indigenous Native American Churches have a long and purposeful history. Back in our history, there was a time when our spiritual beliefs were outlawed. People were jailed, put in insane asylums and killed for participating in the Sun Dance and other ceremonies. This, too, includes taking peyote as our sacrament. Federal laws enacted first in the late 1970s were intended to protect our right to practice our religion. We oppose the attempts of non-Natives to come in and misuse government protection of traditional Native American religion to conduct illegal activity that has nothing to do with our traditional ways.

WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE, CONDONE, OR ALLOW THE USE OF MARIJUANA, OR ANY OTHER SUBSTANCE OTHER THAN PEYOTE, IN ANY OF OUR RELIGIOUS SERVICES. TO THE CONTRARY, THE ONLY PLANT THAT SERVES AS A SACRAMENT IS PEYOTE, AND WITHOUT PEYOTE, OUR CEREMONIES CANNOT TAKE PLACE. WE REJECT AND CONDEMN ANY CLAIM BY THESE ILLEGITIMATE ORGANIZATIONS THAT MARIJUANA OR ANY OTHER PLANT SERVES OR HAS EVER SERVED AS A SACRAMENT IN ADDITION TO PEYOTE IN INDIGENOUS NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH CEREMONIES.

To the extent that the claims of any of these organizations rest on allegations or inferences of an affiliation with traditional Native American Church organizations or with any legitimate chapter of the Native American Church, such claims should be rejected. The mere use of the term Native American Church does not entitle any of these illicit organizations to any legal protection under federal law.

We know who we are, and we know where we come from. We know the atrocities visited upon us. We reject the attempts to grasp onto our indigenous ways and deceive the public by claiming them as their own for their own personal enjoyment or for profit.

DATED this 13th day of February, 2016
______________________________________
Sandor Iron Rope, President
Native American Church of North America
DATED this 13th day of February, 2016
______________________________________
Steven Benally, President
Azzee’ Bee Nahaga of Dine Nation
DATED this 13th day of February, 2016
______________________________________
Charles Haag, President
Native American Church of the State of Oklahoma
DATED this 13th day of February, 2016
______________________________________
Albert Red Bear, Jr., President
Native American Church of the State of South Dakota Native 4

Council of Elders Oklevueha Native American Church May 15, 2016
Re
: Defamatory Statement by Joy Graves Dear Council Members: I regret having to write this to you, but it seems James and Linda Mooney have authorized Joy Graves to make slanderous statements about me and other people I work with. In September of last year, I traveled to Salt Lake City to meet James, Gary and Shaun in person for the first time. We had talked on the phone a number of times over the summer and I had, after initial skepticism, developed an interest in Oklevueha. During two days of meetings with James and members of the Council of Elders, I learned a great deal about the church and about James. Ahead of our visit, the church paid me $5,000.00 for the trip out to Salt Lake and as an initial retainer to pay for time necessary for us to learn about laws related to ONAC. During our visit, James, as the head of the church, asked that I work for Oklevueha (ONAC). He made promises of monthly payments that would cover time and costs and he, along with Shaun, said they wanted us to get started immediately. I agreed we would review the law to gain an understanding of it specifically in respect to Oklevueha and, thereafter, over the next two months, I spent a great deal of time learning and studying religious freedom law and history. However, the promised payments for services were not being made by ONAC. During that time – in or around October – I was called the day a church branch in Sonoma County was being raided. Despite not being paid, I took action immediately even stopping on a business trip to write and fax a letter to Sonoma County while the raid was taking place. Indeed, I was on the phone for hours

that day and then about two days later traveled to Santa Rosa to meet with the leaders of that branch who had been attacked by authorities there and hold a press conference. In or around November, I was notified that Peter Tran was being appointed president of ONAC. Because we had not received any additional compensation despite spending a great deal of time learning about the law and talking to numbers of people who were calling my office since it had been announced we were helping, Peter addressed that issue and agreed to a payment schedule through approximately March, 2016. We received a small payment and an additional partial payment – both far less than the amount due for the time we’d already expended. Thereafter, we received nothing from ONAC for months despite filing a lawsuit against Sonoma County for the raid that took place there and helping on many, many cases. Since there appeared to be no support coming from ONAC and the people in Sonoma had been left by James to fend for themselves, I along with other people who work for me sent money to both of the church leaders who essentially had nothing after the county stole virtually everything from them. Although we had not received payment, people in ONAC around the country had been notified that my office was helping the church and we received more and more phone calls from people who were facing charges, facing jail time or subject to raids and shut-downs. In one case, after numerous errors had been made by attorneys in Michigan in a case there where a church member was facing federal prison time, we intervened, wrote briefs and put our own money in to secure a very reputable attorney in Michigan who could handle the appeal. That member was kept out of jail during his appeal because of that work and money we paid as well as money paid personally by a very important church branch leader in Ohio. Around the country, despite lack of payment by ONAC, we continued to help people. We flew to Portland and to Ohio. We went to Arizona and Utah. In fact, when sacrament had been intercepted by the U.S. Postal Service in Oregon, we ensured replacement healing sacrament required by a woman with esophageal cancer in Ohio got to her before she died. The reports back to us were that her final days were made much more meaningful because that healing sacrament had gotten to her. In January, when I traveled to Portland, I met Joy Graves because sacrament she was sending through the mail had been intercepted. During my meeting with Joy, I first learned of a situation where Joy reported more than $25,000 had been gathered to support legal defense by members of her branch and the money had simply been taken by James Mooney with no report of what happened to it. As we began helping people around the

country who had been charged with crimes or had their sacraments taken by police or local authorities, I learned that James had been telling people they were “bulletproof” from law enforcement and had nothing to worry about when introducing them to ONAC and “gifting” branches while money was paid to him under the proverbial table. More and more people reported they were angry that they’d been promised that they were protected from the law yet had been arrested and lost thousands and thousands of dollars they had put in on a sincere and religious basis because of representations made by James Mooney. One branch leader texted me, I have never been at a lower point in my life. It seems that everything I was promised when joining this church has been forgotten. James promised that I was a priority and that my case would be dropped before the first court date. I have seen no action or interest in helping me. I have been left to fight this alone. It seems that everything has turned upside down since I became a church. Within days of that text, I flew, at my own expense, to meet that person. I learned of the promises that had been made by James Mooney not only to him, but to others. I observed James Mooney at a meeting making similar promises when I went to a branch in San José. It was clear that James Mooney, even though I felt a close connection to him and believed he was sincere in his beliefs, was making promises to people and taking money from them in an inappropriate manner. Based upon what I had learned, I told James he could not be making such representations. I met with then ONAC president Peter Tran and told him my concerns. When Peter and I met with James, he was hyper-focused on suing the Mormon church and going to visit the U.S. Attorney General with several church elders. In emails between James Mooney, Peter Tran, Patrick McNeal (the chief operating officer) and me, the issue of taking care of the many cases of members had been raised. James’s response was to emphasize suing the Mormon church and paying tens of thousands of dollars so he and six or seven others could fly to Washington D.C. and meet the U.S. Attorney General. In Columbus, Ohio, when I brought up the plight of the member in Michigan facing jail time simply for cultivating healing sacrament, James told me he was not concerned about that person because the person had disappointed him. He expressed the same lack of interest in other cases where he had made promises of legal protection to people, taken their money and then left them to fend for themselves. As my concerns

increased about these people James had made promises to long before I had ever met James or even knew of ONAC, a rift between James and me developed. I was sensing James did not want to have his ability to gift churches and take money interfered with. To address the rift, James began telling people that I am “bi-polar” and off of my “meds.” Both of these statements were untrue. I have never been diagnosed “bi-polar” and, while I have taken “meds,” they had nothing to do with my concerns about the legal issues James Mooney was creating for the church and for its members. Those members – as they always have been – were my concern. Approximately ten (10) days ago, James was in Southern California. During his visit, he met with a man named Howard Mann. In the early 2000s, Mann had started an Internet gambling company that utilized nude females. According to press articles, Mann had been involved in pornographic websites. Later, Mann became involved in a venture selling memorabilia related to now deceased entertainer Michael Jackson. After being sued by the Michael Jackson estate, a federal judge ordered Mann to cease and desist. I attended a lunch with Mann, his partner and James in Los Angeles. Following the luncheon meeting, I expressed grave concern about having ONAC involved with Howard Mann and his new for-profit marijuana commercial enterprise. James appeared enamored by Mann and the cannabis project Mann is involved with making comments about it not being just and industry, but multiple industries where billions of dollars were going to be made. It was clear James was focused on the money potential. Although not at that meeting, Peter Tran, the president of ONAC, had traveled to Southern California as well. While Tran was in the Los Angeles area, I met with him and with ONAC chief operating officer Patrick McNeal. During the meeting, I presented an agreement I had prepared that I felt was critically necessary to prevent the church from being exposed to liability because of the statements being made and money being taken by James Mooney. I also expressed my concerns about Howard Mann. The agreement I had proposed required that anyone out talking to potential branch leaders about new branches of the church could not make representations that church membership led to being “bulletproof” from arrest, attacks and seizures by the government. It did not affect anything spiritual – it required representations about the law not be made to make it seem the church totally protected people without any risk. The agreement also required that ONAC leaders have any representations that were being made regarding legal protections be first approved in writing by legal counsel. Finally, the agreement required that people seeking to start branches be subject to a

background check as well as a spirituality evaluation. Another issue I had discovered was that some branch leaders had questionable backgrounds that should have been considered so as not to cause risk for other members and branches of the church. Peter presented the agreement to James Mooney. I made it clear that I would not continue to do work for ONAC if something was not done in regard to the issues addressed by the agreement. Mooney refused to sign the agreement and, because of his refusal, last Monday I resigned. Mooney was again out texting people that I am “bi-polar” and that I needed to go through a Peyote ceremony. Several days later, I was emailed a copy of a letter that had been published by James Mooney terminating me and directing me to turn over files to an attorney named Hull in San Francisco. I have come to learn that Mr. Hull has done work for Howard Mann, the pornography oriented Internet gambling promoter from Canada. Patrick McNeal then informed me he had spoken with Peter Tran, the now former president of ONAC, who told him, without any notice to Peter, James Mooney had flown to Los Angeles, made this Hull fellow the attorney for ONAC and placed Howard Mann and his partner in-charge of ONAC in place of Peter Tran. Needless to say, I was shocked. Placing someone with Howard Mann’s background in-charge of ONAC? I texted Peter Tran and confirmed Mooney had engaged Hull, who Peter told me apparently had some involvement in the same area as Mann and had at some point worked at the Playboy mansion in California. The next day, I was told Joy Graves had written an article about me at the behest of James and Linda Mooney and published it on social media sites as well as on an ONAC website. The article states James and Linda Mooney approved it and goes on to claim that I was fired for a number of reasons that are untrue and inaccurate. First of all, I resigned on Monday, May 9 when James Mooney had not signed the agreement I mentioned above. I cannot work for an organization where misrepresentations are being made and where the spiritual leader trades churches for cash money paid to him. Had Mooney signed the agreement and abided by it, I would have continued with ONAC. But his termination letter was for effect – I resigned before he ever wrote that letter and it was clearly written so that Joy Graves and David Gaskin could go out – despite all I have done for ONAC – and destroy my reputation. David Gaskin contacted a client in Kansas and told that client that ONAC would only help his family if the client fired me. Next, Joy included a series of slanderous statements. Joy is angry because I refused to give her a recreational vehicle and after I had refused to work on personal cases she has in Oregon unrelated to ONAC (i.e. a case involving a restraining order she’d gotten against a man

who had allegedly beaten her, she’d then forgiven and the sheriff department in the area of Oregon where she lives continues to enforce because they believe the man who allegedly beat her is a danger to her.) On Friday, I received a frantic call from Charnel James that Joy Graves was inside her office. Apparently, Joy was, with James’s authorization, sent to attack both Joy Graves and Patrick McNeal, who was at the time in Charnel’s office. The police were called. Joy, along with a young man named Tyler, were forced to leave. Next, Joy has today published additional defamatory articles. The articles are caustic, almost entirely untrue and seem to have been published at the behest of James Mooney and therefore ONAC. Not only do these articles need to be immediately removed, ONAC and James Mooney need to immediately retract the slanderous statements made in them. It is clear Joy is acting with malice – and likely that James and Linda Mooney are as well. Should the articles not be removed immediately and immediate retractions be published by James Mooney and ONAC to every person who has read the articles, it will be necessary for me to seek immediate injunctive relief against Joy, David Gaskin (who has been named by Joy as a participant), this Tyler person, James Mooney, Linda Mooney and ONAC. We have helped numbers of ONAC members over the last nine (9) months. As all of you on the Council of Elders know, we have not only not been paid for that work, we have invested our own money and countless hours of time to help people, many of whom were misled by James Mooney. Even though James Mooney refused to execute the agreement that restricted representations about the church’s legal protections to those reviewed and approved by counsel, such a restriction is necessary. I have advised Shaun of this and have attempted to reach each of you. I can only hope this letter gets to you given James Mooney seems to filter communications and hide the names of those of you who are members of the Council of Elders. This behavior by Joy Graves, David Gaskin and James and Linda Mooney is abhorrent. Because James Mooney does not want to sign an agreement does not mean he gets to go out and slander people. Saying I am ‘bi-polar’ and having Joy Graves and others out attacking people – it is outrageous and clearly malicious. While I believe in the precepts and concepts promulgated by ONAC, the actions of one man – even if that man is the founder of the Oklevueha schism of the Native American Church – should not be allowed to continue to harm members. Moreover, the decision on who is leading ONAC – now apparently Howard Mann – should involve

the entire Council of Elders and not just James Mooney. Given Mr. Mann’s background, it does not appear his leadership will help enhance the legal protections James so often flaunts as “bulletproof.” Very truly yours, Matthew S. Pappa

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A Schedule 1 drug, considered as dangerous as LSD or heroin, is being advertised and used inside an Orange County home, Eyewitness News has learned.

The owners said it’s legal, because they operate as a church.


Investigative reporter Karla Ray found out the Soul Quest Church of the Mother Earth is now under investigation by the parent church of which the local group claims to be a part.

The church looks like a typical home, but for several weekends a month, an illegal drug is used on a regular basis, 9 Investigates uncovered.

Soul Quest advertises Ayahuasca retreats in which a psychedelic tea, traditionally used for its healing properties by South American shamans, is distributed to anyone who pays a membership fee.

The Ayahuasca tea contains a compound known as DMT, which is a Schedule 1 drug.

“It's concerning because it's unregulated, because it has a variety of side effects and it doesn't have any medical benefit we know is beneficial,” Orlando Regional Medical Center toxicologist Josef Thundiyil told Eyewitness News.

Users can see experience immediate nausea and diarrhea or more severe issues like heart problems, or even overdoses, according to doctors.

No one from Soul Quest would talk to Eyewitness News about what the church calls call medicine, but Yvonne Cloete recently attended a retreat at the church, and said it felt safe.

“It was no frat party, it was no, it was very spiritual. It was connecting with your soul,” Cloete told Eyewitness News.

Federal law prohibits the use of DMT, but in 2006, a group took its fight to use the sacred tea to the Supreme Court and won.

In paperwork filed with the state, Soul Quest claims that it is part of a different group, the Oklevueha Native American Church. ONAC told Eyewitness News that Soul Quest is under investigation for possible ethics issues within its retreats, not related to the safety of the members who attend.

“Any church that uses this DMT is going to hold up this Supreme Court decision to say the law is settled on this by the highest court in the land,” WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said.

Though doctors say it can be dangerous, Ayahuasca users argue the outcome justifies the risk.

“Yes, it can be very dangerous. As I said, darkness was first, and then there was light,” Cloete said.

Eyewitness News tried multiple times to speak with Soul Quest leader Chris Young, but our requests were denied.

Contact Karla Ray for more on this story.