Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/05pdf/04-1084.pdf
Page Number: 22

Cite as:  546 U. S. ____ (2006) 

17 

Opinion of the Court 

natural  hallucinogenic  materials,”  and  that  “[p]lants  as 
such are not, and it is submitted are also not likely to be, 
listed in Schedule I, but only some products obtained from 
plants.”  U. N. Commentary on the Convention on Psycho-
tropic  Substances  387,  385  (1976).    The  court  reasoned 
that hoasca, like the plants from which the tea is made, is 
sufficiently  distinct  from  DMT  itself  to  fall  outside  the 
treaty.  See 282 F. Supp. 2d, at 1266–1269. 

We  do  not  agree.    The  Convention  provides  that  “a
preparation  is  subject  to  the  same  measures  of  control  as
the psychotropic substance which it contains,” and defines 
“preparation”  as  “any  solution  or  mixture,  in  whatever 
physical  state,  containing  one  or  more  psychotropic  sub-
stances.”  See  32  U. S. T.,  at  546,  Art.  1(f)(i);  id.,  at  551, 
Art. 3.  Hoasca is a “solution or mixture” containing DMT; 
the  fact  that  it  is  made  by  the  simple  process  of  brewing 
plants  in  water,  as  opposed  to  some  more  advanced 
method, does not change that.  To the extent the commen-
tary  suggests  plants  themselves  are  not  covered  by  the 
Convention,  that  is  of  no  moment—the  UDV  seeks  to 
import  and  use  a  tea  brewed  from  plants,  not  the  plants 
themselves,  and  the  tea  plainly  qualifies  as  a  “prepara-
tion” under the Convention. 

The  fact  that  hoasca  is  covered  by  the  Convention, 
however,  does  not  automatically  mean  that  the  Govern-
ment  has  demonstrated  a  compelling  interest  in  applying 
the  Controlled  Substances  Act,  which  implements  the 
Convention,  to  the  UDV’s  sacramental  use  of  the  tea.    At 
the  present  stage,  it  suffices  to  observe  that  the  Govern-
ment  did  not  even  submit  evidence  addressing  the  inter-
national  consequences  of  granting  an  exemption  for  the 
UDV.  The  Government  simply  submitted  two  affidavits 
by  State  Department  officials  attesting  to  the  general
importance  of  honoring  international  obligations  and  of 
maintaining  the  leadership  position  of  the  United  States 
in  the  international  war  on  drugs.    See  Declaration  of