A man from Jabbeke is requesting acquittal from the court of appeal in Ghent for the importation of Ayahuasca tea. The ritual tea that has hallucinogenic effects, appeared last tuesday evening in the TV show "Ja Jan" with Jan Van Looveren. The importer is claiming freedom of religion because the tea is a holy sacrament inside the Santo Daime church.

The district attorney is prosecuting the man because the tea contains the forbidden substance dimethyltryptamine (DMT). In first appeal he received suspension of sentence and in higher appeal the attorney-general asked for confirmation. The man, however, wants to be acquitted.

In Belgium, the Santo Daime church operates within the organisation Asaf. It has been active in Belgium since 1984 and has some thirty-odd members. They gather every two weeks and consume the tea together.

The man that imports the tea and is at the head of the organisation reasons that in all these years there has not been a single complaint. According to him there is no addictive effect, there are no withdrawal effects and people do not have a hangover the next day. "Quite the contrary: I see people blossom and improve their lives", according to the man from Jabbeke.

"It is not a drug, but a holy sacrament within this religion", claims his lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge as well. "The freedom of religion is a constitutional right, and should the tea - which is essential within this religion - become forbidden, that is in violation of the freedom of worship service."

According to the public prosecutor, this argument is far too easy. "What if tomorrow a religion arises that claims the use of heroin is essential?"

But according to Van Steenbrugge there is no scientific study that shows the tea to be unsafe. In The Netherlands, the church was acquitted in 2012.

Verdict the 24th of february."

JABBEKE - A senior teacher from Jabbeke has to defend himself before the correctional court in Bruges for the importation of narcotics.
As a member of a religious organisation Lode B. flew over a special plant extract from Brazil for years. This extract, made from the Ayahuasca plant, is consumed in the ceremonies of the Santo Daime church, which has its roots in the Brazilian rainforest. Daime is the name devotees use for the extract, which contains the forbidden substance dimethyltryptamine (DMT).

By using the plant, Santo Daime is the subject of lawsuits in numerous countries. In The Netherlands, the church won the verdict, making the use of the extract legal there.
In Belgium, the Santo Daime church operates within the organisation Asaf, which has some thirty odd members, and of which Lode B. is president.

'Not a drug'

"I take care of the practical things for the ceremony", he clarifies. "Thus, I also take care of Daime, which is prepared in Brazil by a shaman. We consume this in light doses and under the supervision of medical staff. People with certain medical problems can not drink it. I understand that the public prosecutor is investigating this, but I guarantee that Daime is not a drug. In Rio they have once experimented with Daime as a party drug, but they quickly turned away from that. It does not have a sedative effect, and is entirely non-addictive. The taste is too bad for it to be. We don't have anything to hide and there has never been an incident or complaint. I will ask for acquittal in confidence. I import this for over ten years and suddenly it is no longer allowed."

"I will use this trial to clarify the context in which we use Daime", he says.
"We drink it in the form of a tea as part of our ceremony. In combination with chanting it brings us in contact with god and nature. We are definitely not a sect. We have no spiritual leader and everyone is free to do and go wherever he/she pleases. Because of this trial we can however no longer practice our religion, since our Daime has been seized."

The case has been introduced yesterday, and is pleaded in january.