| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | A couple of drug rehab workers are fired for their sacramental use of peyote, and they are denied unemployment benefits because of this "misconduct." |
| Posture: | Dunno. |
| Issue: | Does the Free Exercise clause permit the State of Oregon to include religious peyote use within its criminal prohibitions? |
| Holding: | Yes. |
| Rule: | Prohibiting drugs is constitutional, so therefore the denial of benefits is also. |
| Reasoning: | The government can't regulate religious beliefs, but obviously it can regulate some things. No matter what laws you pass, you'll be treading on religion somehow. If we let people just say "that's against my religion," we're making each religion a law unto itself. |
| Dicta: | Blackmun (dissenting): If OR can constitutionally prosecute them for this act of worship, they, like the Amish, may be forced to migrate to some more tolerant region. |