The ruling came in the case of a Utah County couple arrested on felony drug charges for distributing peyote in church ceremonies.

James Warren "Flaming Eagle" Mooney and his wife, Linda, founded the Utah chapter of the Oklevueha Earthwalks Native American Church in 1997. In 2000, Utah County Sheriff's deputies raided the church and seized 17,500 peyote buttons. Police officials said the couple illegally distributed peyote and ran a criminal enterprise.

"The bona-fide religious use of peyote cannot serve as the basis for prosecuting members of the Native American Church under state law," wrote Justice Jill Parrish in the court's opinion.

The state Supreme Court's decision sends the case back to the Fourth District Court to reconsider a previous motion to dismiss the charges.

Although U.S. drug laws make possession of peyote illegal, Native Americans are exempt because the controlled substance is considered sacred to them. The Utah Supreme Court ruling sets a precedent in Utah and other states that lack laws protecting the administration of peyote to non-American Indians as part of religious ceremonies.

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