Ep. 138 - Scott Stanley - Ayahuasca, Religious Freedom, Legality & the DEA

The Universe Within Podcast - A podcast by Jason Grechanik - Wednesdays

Hey everybody! Episode 138 of the show is out. In this episode, I spoke with Scott Stanley. Scott is the founder of the ayahuasca church, Arizona Yage Assembly (AYA) as well as the North American Association of Visionary Churches (NAAVC). I was interested to bring Scott on to speak about the legal status of plant sacraments in the US. I think Scott is a really good representative in that he has been involved in a legal battle with the US government over religious freedom and actually is suing the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and seems to be in a good position. We spoke about his background, ayahuasca, the history of churches and religious freedom in the States, principles and morality, and why he’s involved in doing this work. I think its a very relevant conversation in regard to plant medicines and I hope you all find it insightful. As always, to support this podcast, get early access to shows, bonus material, and Q&As, check out my Patreon page below. Enjoy! This episode is sponsored by Real Mushrooms. As listeners, visit their website to enjoy a discount of 25% off your first order: https://www.realmushrooms.com/universe To learn more about or contact Scott, visit his website at: www.ayaguide.org To view the recent documentary about us, Sacred Tobacco, visit: https://youtu.be/KB0JEQALI_w If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth. And please Subscribe or Follow and if you can go on Apple Podcasts and leave a starred-rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance! I will be guiding our next plant medicine dietas with my colleague Merav Artzi (who I interviewed in episode 28) in Ontario, Canada in August (SOLD OUT) and in the Sacred Valley of Peru in November. If you would like more information about joining us and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org To book an integration call with me, visit: https://jasongrechanik.setmore.com If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated. For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions. To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin   Join this channel on YouTube to get access to perks: https://bit.ly/YTPerks To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik  Thanks and until the next episode! https://www.facebook.com/UniverseWithinPodcast https://www.instagram.com/UniverseWithinPodcast