A 52-year-old Nova Scotia man charged with drug offences linked to spiritual ceremonies he led at his rural home using a hallucinogenic brew from the Amazon will avoid a criminal record in the case so long as he follows a three-year probation order.
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Josh Arnold ordered the conditional discharge Thursday for Michael Adzich, whose lawyer had argued a record would hamper his future attempts to travel to Peru to take part in ceremonies involving the tea called ayahuasca.
Arnold said given the deterring effect of the probation conditions and the “constellation of factors” in the case, “public confidence in the effective enforcement of criminal law would not be tarnished by the imposition of a conditional discharge.”
Outside the courtroom in Dartmouth, N.S., more than a dozen of Adzich’s supporters cheered and clapped as he emerged following his sentencing hearing. In brief remarks, he thanked them.
Adzich was charged following an RCMP raid in November 2022 during an ayahuasca ceremony at his yurt outside of Annapolis Royal, N.S. He and his supporters have argued the ceremonies can be life-changing, improving wellness and helping attendees deal with trauma.
Religious freedom
Adzich initially fought the charges, arguing they violated his religious freedom rights. But he pleaded guilty in May to the importation and possession for the purpose of trafficking of DMT, a substance listed as illegal in Canada but which is a crucial component of ayahuasca.
The prosecution in the case argued ayahuasca can be dangerous, and have serious side-effects including for people with heart conditions. The defence argued Adzich screened participants and ceremonies were done safely.
Among the conditions of his three-year probation order are 200 hours of community service, a requirement to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, and not possess or consume DMT and two other substances in Canada.
In an interview outside the courtroom, Adzich’s lawyer, Asaf Rashid, said the conditional discharge was crucial for his client, as a criminal record would hinder his ability to travel. In particular, he said, Adzich wants to travel to Peru to attend ayahuasca ceremonies.
Under the law, groups in Canada can seek exemptions to use ayahuasca for religious purposes, and roughly a dozen have done so. In his decision Thursday, however, Arnold noted that Adzich never applied for such a measure.
Numerous friends and supporters of Adzich submitted character references that indicated he was sincere, caring and spiritual, according to Arnold.
Prosecution’s view
But during a sentencing hearing in September, prosecutor Glen Scheuer attempted to puncture the view that Adzich was a man of honesty and integrity, pointing to the nature of his efforts to import ayahuasca.
Arnold called Adzich “sneaky and deceptive” in bringing the substance to Canada. The judge said he used a former girlfriend in New York City as a “patsy” to accept an ayahuasca delivery from Peru, but deceived her about what was actually in the package.
She did not know it was ayahuasca, but was arrested by Homeland Security, potentially putting her job with the New York City Police Department at risk.
“Mr. Adzich may have been conducting ayahuasca ceremonies for mainly altruistic purposes,” Arnold said. “But he knew that what he was doing was illegal.”
Another issue that cropped up during sentencing were text messages sent and received by Adzich and which were analyzed by police. In them, he used coded language, attempted to source ayahuasca not subject to quality testing, and indicated he knew of other police seizures.
The text messages were introduced by the prosecution at the beginning of the sentencing process last month, but Rashid said he’d not seen them before.
At the next court date, the lawyer conceded they were on a USB that was part of the disclosure of evidence he received in July 2024, but he said he had been unable to open it.
In his decision Thursday, Arnold was critical of what he called “the failure” of the lawyer to pursue the disclosure, saying he made only “weak efforts” to solve the USB problem with the Crown and then proceeded with the case without reviewing the text messages.
In an interview outside the courtroom, Rashid said he doesn’t disagree with the judge and accepts his reasons.
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