The most common plant constituents of Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi & Psychotria viridis) are not specifically scheduled in the United States. Neither is the ayahuasca brew specifically named as a scheduled substance. However, P. Viridis contains DMT which is DEA schedule 1. The DEA has recently been making the argument that a plant or brew is illegal if it contains DMT or any other controlled substance.

There have been several developments in 1999, 2000, and 2001 which have affected the practical legal status of ayahuasca. No new laws have been passed, but in the United States and Europe, ayahuasca has started to become part of the Drug War. No cases have been decided in the United States or in Europe which have ruled that ayahuasca or plants used to make ayahuasca are necessarily illegal, but there have been several arrests for possession of Ayahuasca or its component plants.

• Apr 2005: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Government Appeal of Preliminary Injunction
• Dec 2004: Supreme Court Allows UDV to use Tea by Lifting Temporary Stay of Preliminary Injunction
• Nov 2004: Appeals Court Affirms Previous Appeals Court Affirmation
• Aug 2003: Appeals Court Affirms Lower Court Preliminary Injunction
• August 2002: UDV Wins Preliminary Injunction in Ayahuasca Case
• November 2001: UDV Ayahuasca Legal Case Begins in New Mexico
• 2000, 2001: Ayahuasca tea seized by DEA in Oregon and New Mexico
• January 2000: Plants used to make ayahuasca seized by the DEA and importer arrested in Georgia