Federal prosecutors in Utah have issued grand jury subpoenas for evidence in a case involving non-Indian use of peyote.

The U.S. Attorney's office is investigating Nicholas Stark and James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney. Both claim to be medicine men and practitioners of the Native American Church.

But since neither man can prove his Indian ancestry or membership in a federally recognized tribe, they are violating the law, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The state of Utah was forced to dismiss charges against Stark and Mooney for possession of peyote, a hallucinogenic that is a sacrament of the Native American Church. The Utah Supreme Court ruled that membership in a tribe wasn't required in order to use the drug.

Get the Story:
Feds looking into prosecuting peyote-using 'medicine men' (The Salt Lake Tribune 10/21)

Court Decision:
State of Utah v. Mooney (June 22, 2004)

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