The difficult conflict between a church seeking to use a controlled substance in its religious ceremonies and the government’s interest in restricting such use has been raised again in an appeal by the Soul Quest Church of Mother Earth from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s denial of permission. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Church should have appealed directly to the Court of Appeals and not to a trial level district court in Florida. The Church sought permission from DEA to use a sacramental tea known as ayahuasca, which contains a controlled substance, dimethyltryptamine (“DMT”). The Church had filed a petition for exemption and the DEA conducted an...