An Oral History

The Centro Espírita Benficente União Do Vegetal (The Beneficent Spiritist Center Union of The Plants) is a religious tradition born in the Amazon rainforest. A central part of its ceremonial practice is an act of communion using a tea made from two plants which have acknowledged beneficial effects on human consciousness and spiritual awareness. This tea, known as Hoasca, has been used for thousands of years by indigenous rainforest cultures. In The Exercise of Conscience is an oral telling of the story of a successful legal struggle initiated by followers of this religion that was ultimately decided in the church’s favor by a unanimous United States Supreme Court decision. Due to the fundamental re-interpretation of the U.S. Constitution as a result of this ruling (as well as various international drug policy treaties), the case was formally acknowledged by the United States Department of Justice as “changing the landscape of the law as it relates to religious liberty”.