Legally offering psilocybin mushroom as Sacrament in ceremony
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States states the following:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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The Washington State Constitution States the following:
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Absolute freedom of conscience in all matters of religious sentiment, belief and worship, shall be guaranteed to every individual, and no one shall be molested or disturbed in person or property on account of religion; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state. No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That this article shall not be so construed as to forbid the employment by the state of a chaplain for such of the state custodial, correctional, and mental institutions, or by a county's or public hospital district's hospital, health care facility, or hospice, as in the discretion of the legislature may seem justified. No religious qualification shall be required for any public office or employment, nor shall any person be incompetent as a witness or juror, in consequence of his opinion on matters of religion, nor be questioned in any court of justice touching his religious belief to affect the weight of his testimony.
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Although our Constitutional Rights include a freedom to practice religion, Plant Medicine work remains a controversial subject as it fits in to that freedom. That is to say, we specifically mean Ceremonial Spiritual Worship with Psilocybin Mushrooms as Sacrament. There are many underground churches around the Country who work with Peyote, Psilocybin, Ayahuasca or San Pedro under the premise that they do have a right to practice their religion even if it involves working with a "Schedule I illegal substance". In fact, it is argued that the mere idea of the DEA requiring a petition or request to work with these plants is already a violation of this right to religious freedom.
The first time we contacted an attorney to help us, he actually said this very thing: "Don't go through the DEA, just stay underground".​
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While we do wholeheartedly agree that the DEA's process of Request for Exemption to use these illegal substances may be in itself a violation of our right to work with them as part of our religion, we also understand the perceived necessity for regulation.
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With all of these things in mind, we have opted to collaborate with the DEA through the process of submitting a Request for Exemption to work with Psilocybin Mushrooms as Sacrament in our Shamanic Plant Medicine Ceremonies and have made all necessary accommodations to be in compliance with their documented standards. We wish to offer our participants safety in both the legal and physical sense as well as full transparency with all that we do with the hope that the DEA will uphold this right to practice our religion of Shamanism.
We have great respect and reverence for the plants, for our Country and for the sacredness of this work. We do not wish to negatively impact the community with the work we are doing and will therefor be conducting ourselves publicly in all ways, including under the scrutiny of the DEA.
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All of our work with the plants is and will continue to be above-ground, accessible to all that are in need, and available for public scrutiny. We do believe it is our Divine right to commune with Plant Spirits and wish to provide this opportunity to those who are also feeling called to this work.