Exempting peyote from the federal substance abuse schedule is not so easy. Consider how some states interpret this law. Arizona and Oregon contend that as long as peyote is used with "sincere religious intent," uses are exempt. In Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, and New Mexico, users must be members of a "bona fide religious organization." Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin designate its use "only within an NAC ceremony." NAC membership is required in Idaho, Texas, and Wyoming, with Idaho and Texas further requiring that a person be of Native American descent. Kansas also states that incarcerated people are not exempt from the illegalities of using peyote regardless of any NAC affiliation.

Texas is often singled out as having laws closely aligned to old Jim Crow laws that determined whether someone was of African American descent by determining their percentage of African American...