Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church (Orlando, FL)
Florida-based ayahuasca church (founded 2015) at the centre of Soul Quest Church of Mother Earth Inc. v. DEA — the leading post-2018 federal-court test of religious-exemption claims for ayahuasca. 2018 in-ceremony death of Lindsey Poulson.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+1 for documented participant death (Lindsey Poulson, 2018) and ongoing federal litigation over DEA exemption.
Profile facts
In context
Soul Quest, founded by Christopher Young, operates ayahuasca and kambo retreats from a campus near Orlando under the claim of religious-exemption status modelled on the Supreme Court's 2006 UDV ruling. A 2018 participant death (Lindsey Poulson, sepsis after a kambo ceremony) triggered Florida investigations and a long-running DEA denial of religious-exemption status; the case (Soul Quest v. DEA, 11th Cir.) has continued through 2023. Representative case for the documented harm patterns of unregulated US psychedelic facilitator networks.
Recovery resources
- ICSA Helpline — International Cultic Studies Association — questions about high-control groups, referrals to cult-aware therapists, peer support.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation — BITE Model assessments, exit-counselling resources, family education.
- ICSA Cult-Aware Therapist Directory — ICSA-maintained directory of licensed mental-health professionals with specific cult-recovery training.
- Combatting Cult Mind Control — Steven Hassan, 1988 (revised 2018). The foundational BITE Model book; CLCI Hub's core methodology source.
- Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships — Janja Lalich & Madeleine Tobias, 2006. Practical recovery workbook.
- An Olive Branch — Independent investigation organisation specialising in spiritual-community misconduct cases (produced the 2020 3HO report).
See the full curated list at /resources.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 2015Soul Quest founded near Orlando
- 2018Lindsey Poulson dies after kambo ceremony
- 2020+DEA denies religious exemption; litigation begins
- 202311th Circuit ruling against Soul Quest
Sources
- WFTV9 reporting, Orlando (2018+) search ↗
- Soul Quest Church of Mother Earth Inc. v. DEA, 11th Cir. (2023) search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. The search ↗ link runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.