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Cached from: http://www.santodaime.org/institutional/legal.htm

Legalization in Brazil

Since the 60's researchers and authorities have been accompanying the development and expansion of our spiritualist doctrine. In 1982 it was formed the first commission (composed by   Medical Doctors, anthropologists, psychologists, representatives from the Brazilian Justice Ministry, from the Brazilian Federal Police and from the Brazilian Army) to certificate in loco the Santo Daime/Ahyauasca phenomenon, in the late years of Brazilian dictatorial regime governments.

Two Commissions visited, first the Rio do Ouro Seringal (rubber extraction camp) and after the embryo of the Céu do Mapiá Village, leaving very well impressed with what they have seen. Much tests and interviews were done with significant sampling of the local population. The results attested excellent levels in the evaluation of diverse aspects of the social, spiritual and personal lives of its members. It was noticed a strong social cohesion tie, and an inherent cooperative living among the Daime Community participants. It was also observed superior levels of healthiness, education, organization and life quality in comparison to others similar settlements on the region (found on the Purus River' valley).

In 1984, through CONFEN - Conselho Federal de Entorpecentes (Brazil's Narcotic Federal Council), a Justice Ministry organ-division responsible to plan and run the governmental politic in relation to the use of drugs and pharmacies, it was created a Working Commission to study specifically the ritualistic use of ahyauasca. Along 1985 and 1986, this group had visited many communities beneficiaries of the use of the drink, including Céu do Mapiá, where they've confirmed the positive opinion of anterior commissions.

It was once more found out high levels of social organization, cohesion, and work capacity of the community. The life quality found out there (absences of alcoholism, chronic malnutrition; infant mortality' and delinquency's rates near 0; absence of violence; self-respecting habitation, nutrition and working patterns) leaded the working group of CONFEN to conclude, in 1987 that:

"the religious rituals conducted with the sacramental drink Santo Daime/Ahyauasca didn't bring injuries to the social life, though contributed to its better integration, being remarkable the benefits testified by the usuary religious groups members.

By the other side, the results of pharmacological and psycho-social researches run in the usuary's communities, found out the absence of any addiction and dependency risk in the use of such substances in a ritual context. It was asked several counsels to the most imminent psychopharmacology researchers. And all of them were emphatic in affirming, confirming results yet noticed, that:

"The Santo Daime doesn't represent characteristics of drug abuse, by its ritualistic and discontinuous use and by the absence of behavioral alterations."

Other favorable counsels

In 1991, other pressures and denouncements from discontent sectors within the legalization of the drink, leads to the constitution of a new commission that executed new studies and visits to the main ahyauasca's and daimists' entities. The CONFEN once more manifested itself by the continuation of an accompaniment of the ritual use of the drink, without adopting any prohibitionist orientation.

Thus, it was benefited the government, the scientific and research communities interested in this research area and, of course, the usuary entities that could continue developing its works in a increasingly responsible way, realizing outnumbered benefits to its members, not only on their own spiritual part, but also in terms of social assistance and charity.