In the first test of the newly enacted Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), an Iowa district court has rejected a claim that the statutory exemption for the religious use of peyote violates both religious freedom and establishment of religion. 2024 Iowa Acts chapter 1003 (April 2, 2024).
The case was filed by Carl Olsen in 2023 before the RFRA had been enacted in 2024. Olsen’s church uses cannabis for communion. Carl Olsen v. Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing, Case No. CVCV066477, Ruling on Petition, December 4, 2024. Olsen added the RFRA claim at a preliminary hearing in the case on May 10, 2024.
When the religious use of peyote was added to the Iowa Code in 1967, cannabis was still considered a crime in all 50 states. Since that time, 48 states have accepted cannabis as a medicine, and Iowa enacted a law this year allowing delta-9-THC (the psychoactive component of cannabis) to be sold in Iowa grocery stores. 2024 Iowa Acts chapter 1176 (May 17, 2024).
Documents in the case can be found at: https://carl-olsen.com/rfra/olsen-iowa-rules.html
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