Cannabis

[Blood_Angel]

Both are dangerous but if I had to make a distinction I’d say marijuana was more dangerous.

That’s crazy. You’ve probably never been drunk have you?
When you’re so out of your mind, you need other people, to tell you how you behaved the following day, you become a different person. It’s shameful, humiliating and nobody respects you for it, you’re just a drunk.
Alcohol is the 3rd most dangerous drug in the world, after heroin and meth.
I can smoke cannabis all day, and still be in my normal state of mind and know the difference between right and wrong, what you said about that is just silly.
All cannabis does, is elevate whatever mood you’re in.

I don’t recommend teenagers smoke it anyway, while they’re still immature and growing up. I myself, only started once I was an adult, so I could understand what I was doing.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Wrong. Drunkenness is a serious sin. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that drunkenness is a mortal sin. Alcohol use with moderation does not produce drunkenness. I myself weigh 220 and I can drink a glass of wine or several beers and not feel anything whatsoever in the way of inebriation. In that sense the matter is somewhat subjective. I myself do not drink anything at all ever because I have alcoholics in my family and do not wish to scandalize anyone or set a bad example for the young. Marijuana use, however, produces the high immediately with little difference in intensity of inebriation during the duration of the use of the drug.

I also was a very heavy marijuana user as a teenager(the very last time I used it was 1979) and I know first hand what marijuana does to you, and there is absolutely no comparison with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant and marijuana is a narcotic.

Citation please. Is marijuana pharmacologically a narcotic or something else?

Because both affect the brain differently, there really isn’t much of a way to compare one to the other. Alcohol slowed things down considerably but I was always very well aware of the difference between right and wrong. Marijuana, however, tended to blur the distinction between right and wrong and whatever lapses in judgement I rendered were the result of a deadening of my conscience while under the influence. Both are dangerous but if I had to make a distinction I’d say marijuana was more dangerous.

 When I returned to the Church at age 18 I went to confession.  Marijuana use was one of the sins that I confessed as mortal.  Marijuana use, as well as the use of any other drug, severs your relationship with God.  Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Don't think for a minute that you can put anything you like into the temple without God having something to say about it.

Really. Any drug? I can think of a lot of drugs that people take that are beneficial. Vicodin and Codeine are an actual narcotics and I’ve used both without sin. I take six different drugs every day without sin. Taking drugs is not sinful in and of itself.

I would say that anti-depressants are more dangerous than marijuana because of the rebound effect when one stops taking them. People coming off of antidepressants have been known to do some pretty bad things…like shoot up schools, etc. Marijuana can help a person with depression without the nasty rebound effects.

In my case, it helps me by allowing me to get out of groove the depressing thoughts and experience something other than hopelessness and despair (which I experience intensely when I am depressed) and try to change my thinking and come out of the depression.

 

[Blood_Angel]

If the Church has a problem with the criminality surrounding cannabis, and supporting organised crime, than what about in countries where cannabis is tolerated such as California, Amsterdam, Nepal, Afghanistan, Morocco???

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

If the Church has a problem with the criminality surrounding cannabis, and supporting organised crime, than what about in countries where cannabis is tolerated such as California, Amsterdam, Nepal, Afghanistan, Morocco???

Ummm, I know many might agree with you but California is not a country, it is a State and marijuana is only legal for medicinal use there.

As for the other countries its use is seen by the Catholic Church the same way as the use of alcohol, that is moderate use is okay. Its recreational use is not okay where it is illegal.

Again, the Catholic Church teaches that we must follow the laws of where we are living unless those laws are morally evil. No one has successfully shown that drug laws are a moral evil. Yes they have some very emotional arguments in the attempt but they fail in the end.

 

[Theophilus777]

Perhaps the most heinous thing about the advocacy of “medical marijuana” is that it completely devalues suffering.

Is anyone saying here that suffering has no meaning or merit in the life of a Christian? Such a statement is an insult to every Saint and martyr who has ever suffered for the faith. Consider the last days of St. Terese of Lisieux, for example, who refused any medication whatsoever, and consider her reasons for refusing it and tell me you don’t feel any shame or feel confronted by what is little more than cowardice in the face of pain?

The point is that pain is not without meaning or purpose in the life of a Christian. Jesus said to take up our cross and follow Him. What do you suppose that “Cross” entails? And how does something like medical marijuana assist in whatever grace is given in the context of suffering in the life of a believer? Medical marijuana does not assist grace, but is only a poor substitute for it.

 

[Thoughtfulone]

Wrong. Drunkenness is a serious sin. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that drunkenness is a mortal sin. Alcohol use with moderation does not produce drunkenness. I myself weigh 220 and I can drink a glass of wine or several beers and not feel anything whatsoever in the way of inebriation. In that sense the matter is somewhat subjective. I myself do not drink anything at all ever because I have alcoholics in my family and do not wish to scandalize anyone or set a bad example for the young. Marijuana use, however, produces the high immediately with little difference in intensity of inebriation during the duration of the use of the drug.

I also was a very heavy marijuana user as a teenager(the very last time I used it was 1979) and I know first hand what marijuana does to you, and there is absolutely no comparison with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant and marijuana is a narcotic. Because both affect the brain differently, there really isn’t much of a way to compare one to the other. Alcohol slowed things down considerably but I was always very well aware of the difference between right and wrong. Marijuana, however, tended to blur the distinction between right and wrong and whatever lapses in judgement I rendered were the result of a deadening of my conscience while under the influence. Both are dangerous but if I had to make a distinction I’d say marijuana was more dangerous.

 When I returned to the Church at age 18 I went to confession.  Marijuana use was one of the sins that I confessed as mortal.  Marijuana use, as well as the use of any other drug, severs your relationship with God.  Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Don't think for a minute that you can put anything you like into the temple without God having something to say about it.

You are wrong in so many ways. First of all, you claim that one becomes immediately “high” with marijuana and further use has little impact. NOTHING could be further from the truth. A small amount, when vaporized, will produce ONLY a mild sense of relaxation (think drinking some herbal tea). Further use will produce more extreme levels of inebriation.

Yes, DRUNKENNESS is considered to be a sin, and this only when one has lost the ability to discern right from wrong and/or one’s moral judgement is compromised. It is perfectly fine to drink and feel the effects of alcohol, get tipsy, get a little silly, etc. What do you think was going on at Cana when they ran out of wine? The same holds true for marijuana.

Also, marijuana is NOT a narcotic.

“Marijuana is not a narcotic. Although California law calls it a narcotic, it is pharmacologically distinct from the family of opium derivatives and synthetic narcotics. (Wolstenholme, 1965; Watt, 1965; Garattini, 1965; 1 Crim 5351 Calif. District Court of Appeal, 1st Appel. Dist.)”
druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/general/bruin.htm

 

[Thoughtfulone]

Perhaps the most heinous thing about the advocacy of “medical marijuana” is that it completely devalues suffering.

Is anyone saying here that suffering has no meaning or merit in the life of a Christian? Such a statement is an insult to every Saint and martyr who has ever suffered for the faith. Consider the last days of St. Terese of Lisieux, for example, who refused any medication whatsoever, and consider her reasons for refusing it and tell me you don’t feel any shame or feel confronted by what is little more than cowardice in the face of pain?

The point is that pain is not without meaning or purpose in the life of a Christian. Jesus said to take up our cross and follow Him. What do you suppose that “Cross” entails? And how does something like medical marijuana assist in whatever grace is given in the context of suffering in the life of a believer? Medical marijuana does not assist grace, but is only a poor substitute for it.

Are you KIDDING me? With this argument, we don’t even need hospitals because people with diseases should just be content to suffer and experience the great “value” of it. Go tell a cancer patient who can’t keep any food down because of the chemotherapy that they need to suffer more. Better yet, you should go tell Jesus that He really shouldn’t have healed the blind and the cripples because of the enormous merit their suffering had.

 

[Theophilus777]

You are wrong in so many ways. First of all, you claim that one becomes immediately “high” with marijuana and further use has little impact. NOTHING could be further from the truth. A small amount, when vaporized, will produce ONLY a mild sense of relaxation (think drinking some herbal tea). Further use will produce more extreme levels of inebriation.

Yes, DRUNKENNESS is considered to be a sin, and this only when one has lost the ability to discern right from wrong and/or one’s moral judgement is compromised. It is perfectly fine to drink and feel the effects of alcohol, get tipsy, get a little silly, etc. What do you think was going on at Cana when they ran out of wine? The same holds true for marijuana.

Also, marijuana is NOT a narcotic.

“Marijuana is not a narcotic. Although California law calls it a narcotic, it is pharmacologically distinct from the family of opium derivatives and synthetic narcotics. (Wolstenholme, 1965; Watt, 1965; Garattini, 1965; 1 Crim 5351 Calif. District Court of Appeal, 1st Appel. Dist.)”
druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/general/bruin.htm

What you are saying is simply not true. There is a difference between drunkenness with alcohol and inebriation with cannabis. Secondly, marijuana has an immediate effect upon someone who never uses it. Repeated use creates a bodily tolerance which requires more of the THC to enter the bloodstream to reproduce the same effect. This is one of the reasons why some say that marijuana use leads to more dangerous drugs, because the ability to achieve the same “high” changes with more frequent and habitual use.
A mild sense of relaxation? Only if you’ve smoked enough for long enough to develop that kind of tolerance. You are misleading anyone who reads your statement to believe that what is little more than your own body resisting the drug makes it less dangerous for themselves. In other words, your experience as a frequent user of the drug doesn’t translate across the board to someone who has never used it before. And as such by making that statement you are in danger of leading someone else into sin.

Furthermore it is not fine to get tipsy. Who told you that? I would like you to give the source of your information in terms of Church teaching that shows clearly that there is a distinction between levels of inebriation that reduces culpability in correlation. You’re merely using your own clouded judgement as a standard of measurement. How does what you believe measure up against what the Church teaches? What does the Church teach about alcohol use and abuse? Give quotes with your answers.

Furthermore, the Bible does not state the numbers of tipsy people at the wedding at Cana. It does not make any statement whatsoever about inebriation of any kind. You insert that into the text by inference according to your own prejudice but God has already forbidden drunkenness in countless passages in the Old and New Testaments. I said it is possible to have a small amount of wine and not feel anything, That is the principle of self-control, which is a virtue that we are all called to exercise. Self-control, is after all, the antidote to any sin of excess, and drunkenness(drinking so that you feel the effect of alcohol) is a deliberate sin of excess.

The law calls marijuana a narcotic. That is what I am referring to in terms of the moral obligation we have to obey the laws of our government. Until marijuana use becomes legal, to use it is to break the law and then to break the law of our government is a sin.

Ultimately we will answer to God regardless of how we deceive ourselves into calling sin anything other than what it is: forbidden by God.

 

[Theophilus777]

Are you KIDDING me? With this argument, we don’t even need hospitals because people with diseases should just be content to suffer and experience the great “value” of it. Go tell a cancer patient who can’t keep any food down because of the chemotherapy that they need to suffer more. Better yet, you should go tell Jesus that He really shouldn’t have healed the blind and the cripples because of the enormous merit their suffering had.

No. I am not kidding you. Suffering has a meaning in the life of a Christian. Suffering accomplishes something in the life of a Christian. Are you familiar with the lives of the saints? Have you read the Gospels, the Old and New Testament?
Tell me how we are supposed to live out Jesus’ command to take up our cross and follow Him if it excludes any form of suffering whatsoever.
We are in the midst of Lent. What is penance and what does penance do for us in terms of our relationship with God.
Jesus healed the blind and the crippled because He was preaching the Gospel and the healings were a sign of what Jesus was preaching: the Kingdom of God. It is when the Kingdom comes that suffering and pain and death are no more, as the book of Revelation declares. If suffering had no meaning Jesus would have healed everyone without exception. Is God not omnipotent? The New Covenant is here. If suffering does not serve any purpose then why would God permit it? Your rationale is the reason why people question the existence of God or question His goodness. It is the mistaken belief that suffering has no purpose and can achieve no higher good.
The lives of the saints and the choices of the martyrs all stand against what you have written here,

 

[Theophilus777]

Are you KIDDING me? With this argument, we don’t even need hospitals because people with diseases should just be content to suffer and experience the great “value” of it. Go tell a cancer patient who can’t keep any food down because of the chemotherapy that they need to suffer more. Better yet, you should go tell Jesus that He really shouldn’t have healed the blind and the cripples because of the enormous merit their suffering had.

Furthermore, are you stating that the existence of medical technology which is common only in our own century supercedes the moral teaching of the Church and thus should guide the way the Church lives out the teaching of Christ, or is it rather that the teaching of the Church should guide the way we use medical technology?
Which is the higher moral authority, medical science or the Gospel?

Pleasure and the absence of suffering are not the barometer by which a successful life is measured. Your conclusions are all false because your initial premise is false. You are measuring life according to a false standard,

 

[Thoughtfulone]

What you are saying is simply not true. There is a difference between drunkenness with alcohol and inebriation with cannabis. Secondly, marijuana has an immediate effect upon someone who never uses it. Repeated use creates a bodily tolerance which requires more of the THC to enter the bloodstream to reproduce the same effect. This is one of the reasons why some say that marijuana use leads to more dangerous drugs, because the ability to achieve the same “high” changes with more frequent and habitual use.
A mild sense of relaxation? Only if you’ve smoked enough for long enough to develop that kind of tolerance. You are misleading anyone who reads your statement to believe that what is little more than your own body resisting the drug makes it less dangerous for themselves. In other words, your experience as a frequent user of the drug doesn’t translate across the board to someone who has never used it before. And as such by making that statement you are in danger of leading someone else into sin.

Furthermore it is not fine to get tipsy. Who told you that? I would like you to give the source of your information in terms of Church teaching that shows clearly that there is a distinction between levels of inebriation that reduces culpability in correlation. You’re merely using your own clouded judgement as a standard of measurement. How does what you believe measure up against what the Church teaches? What does the Church teach about alcohol use and abuse? Give quotes with your answers.

Furthermore, the Bible does not state the numbers of tipsy people at the wedding at Cana. It does not make any statement whatsoever about inebriation of any kind. You insert that into the text by inference according to your own prejudice but God has already forbidden drunkenness in countless passages in the Old and New Testaments. I said it is possible to have a small amount of wine and not feel anything, That is the principle of self-control, which is a virtue that we are all called to exercise. Self-control, is after all, the antidote to any sin of excess, and drunkenness(drinking so that you feel the effect of alcohol) is a deliberate sin of excess.

The law calls marijuana a narcotic. That is what I am referring to in terms of the moral obligation we have to obey the laws of our government. Until marijuana use becomes legal, to use it is to break the law and then to break the law of our government is a sin.

Ultimately we will answer to God regardless of how we deceive ourselves into calling sin anything other than what it is: forbidden by God.

It has nothing to do with tolerance. In fact, most people I know who have never tried marijuana feel no effects the first several times they use it. The FACT is that one can use it responsibly and without loss of reason or morality which is why the CATHOLIC CHURCH has no stance on it other than that we should follow the laws governing the place where we live.

The Bible does not state that people at Cana were tipsy, but they drank enough to run out of wine completely. What does this tell you? And yes, there is nothing wrong with getting a little tipsy as long as one does not lose their sense of reason or right and wrong:

drunkenness
Overindulgence in alcoholic beverages. On Catholic moral principles, the degree of sinfulness in excessive drinking depends on how this excess is known to affect this particular drinker. It is a grave matter if it is foreseen that this drink will cause one to lose the use of one’s senses or will put one in such a state that he or she is no longer able to distinguish right from wrong. It is a venial matter if one has reason for believing that this amount of drinking, though actually excessive, will neither deprive one of the use of one’s senses or of the power to distinguish right from wrong.

catholicreference.net/index.cfm?id=33231

Psalm 104:15 - the Psalmist writes that “wine gladdens the heart of a man.”

Ecclesiastes 9:7 - “drink your wine with a merry heart, for God approves what you do.”

Wisdom 2:7 - “Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes!”

Sir. 40:20 - “Wine gladdens the heart.”

(All of the above are euphemisms for getting a bit tipsy)

 

[Blood_Angel]

Again, the Catholic Church teaches that we must follow the laws of where we are living unless those laws are morally evil. No one has successfully shown that drug laws are a moral evil. Yes they have some very emotional arguments in the attempt but they fail in the end.

I believe that there is some corruption over the legality of cannabis. I mean pharmacutical companies, mostly, profit from that.

 

[Thoughtfulone]

Furthermore, are you stating that the existence of medical technology which is common only in our own century supercedes the moral teaching of the Church and thus should guide the way the Church lives out the teaching of Christ, or is it rather that the teaching of the Church should guide the way we use medical technology?
Which is the higher moral authority, medical science or the Gospel?

Pleasure and the absence of suffering are not the barometer by which a successful life is measured. Your conclusions are all false because your initial premise is false. You are measuring life according to a false standard,

I never said suffering does not serve a purpose, but we are morally permitted to mitigate our suffering through the use of medical practices, and this includes the use of marijuana. Unless you believe that doctors and hospitals are in themselves immoral, you have no argument here, and if you do, well, I’m sure you know that his is NOT Catholic teaching.

 

[Thoughtfulone]

I believe that there is some corruption over the legality of cannabis. I mean pharmacutical companies, mostly, profit from that.

And BILLIONS of dollars go toward keeping pot-smokers and dealers in jail and prison, to busting them, etc. that could and should absolutely go toward something else. It is immoral that this amount of time, money and resources is spent trying to prevent people from using marijuana when alcohol alone causes more violence, rape, suicides, overdoses and depression (not to mention ill-conceived tattoos!) than marijuana could ever cause and yet it is legal.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

And BILLIONS of dollars go toward keeping pot-smokers and dealers in jail and prison, to busting them, etc. that could and should absolutely go toward something else. It is immoral that this amount of time, money and resources is spent trying to prevent people from using marijuana when alcohol alone causes more violence, rape, suicides, overdoses and depression (not to mention ill-conceived tattoos!) than marijuana could ever cause and yet it is legal.

Ya think?

 

[Charlotte408]

Honestly, If it were legal, I dont think the Church would have much against it. Also, if it were legal…I would smoke it!

This was the general consensus when I first came on CAF and had my own ‘is it immoral to smoke pot’ thread.

If it’s illegal where you are, then no - don’t smoke it.

But that has never been a good enough answer for me. If truth is truly objective then that can not be so. I also have a problem with Priests who smoke cigarettes.

I’ll be honest. I smoke weed. My whole family smokes weed. I grew up with, everyone smoking weed. And, I’m at the point of my life where, I want to quit…but…its hard. Everywhere I go - there it is. And I feel guilty about it. I don’t want to do it anymore. I grew up in a household where my mom and her friends/my uncles/the adults would go into the bathroom and I’d be knocking…bored…alone…I promised myself when I had my Daughter I would quit and my home wouldn’t be a place of ‘locked doors’.

They say it isn’t physically addictive, and it might not be. But it sure the heck is mentally addicitive…I have a hard time handling stress, and sleeping…so I’ll smoke a little before bed. But I know she knows. And thats what kills me. I’m supposed to be BETTER than my Mom was…

My poor baby, watching TV as I’m zoned out on the couch…no mental stimulation…no conversation.

IDK Its something I struggle with, very seriously struggle with. I’m trying to build my will power up more to say no through Lent…practicing giving up other things to discipline myself…but I’ve tried to quit before and messed up so I don’t want to repent REPENT until I know I CAN.

At the OP - don’t let this stop you from becoming Catholic. There is so much more to Catholicism that that one point that really is a non issue in the Church- but on a personal level, from someone that knows - stop if you can. Your feelings/emotions/memories, all that is FAKE when your on drugs…its like a veil…lightly drawn over your face…Your not experiencing the fullness of reality. I appreciate anyone who wishes to pray on my behalf to quit for good.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

But that has never been a good enough answer for me. If truth is truly objective then that can not be so.

Truth is truly objective. As the Church Teaches. It is always a sin to commit an illegal act when the law is morally neutral or morally good.

Seems like there is a bit of moral relativism going on in your thought to justify what you want to do.

 

[stringbeanduck]

This was the general consensus when I first came on CAF and had my own ‘is it immoral to smoke pot’ thread.

If it’s illegal where you are, then no - don’t smoke it.

But that has never been a good enough answer for me. If truth is truly objective then that can not be so. I also have a problem with Priests who smoke cigarettes.

I’ll be honest. I smoke weed. My whole family smokes weed. I grew up with, everyone smoking weed. And, I’m at the point of my life where, I want to quit…but…its hard. Everywhere I go - there it is. And I feel guilty about it. I don’t want to do it anymore. I grew up in a household where my mom and her friends/my uncles/the adults would go into the bathroom and I’d be knocking…bored…alone…I promised myself when I had my Daughter I would quit and my home wouldn’t be a place of ‘locked doors’.

They say it isn’t physically addictive, and it might not be. But it sure the heck is mentally addicitive…I have a hard time handling stress, and sleeping…so I’ll smoke a little before bed. But I know she knows. And thats what kills me. I’m supposed to be BETTER than my Mom was…

My poor baby, watching TV as I’m zoned out on the couch…no mental stimulation…no conversation.

IDK Its something I struggle with, very seriously struggle with. I’m trying to build my will power up more to say no through Lent…practicing giving up other things to discipline myself…but I’ve tried to quit before and messed up so I don’t want to repent REPENT until I know I CAN.

At the OP - don’t let this stop you from becoming Catholic. There is so much more to Catholicism that that one point that really is a non issue in the Church- but on a personal level, from someone that knows - stop if you can. Your feelings/emotions/memories, all that is FAKE when your on drugs…its like a veil…lightly drawn over your face…Your not experiencing the fullness of reality. I appreciate anyone who wishes to pray on my behalf to quit for good.

Yeah. Honestly it’s just like everything else. Chocolate, alcohol, cigs, smokeless tobacco. Regardless of a substances physical addictiveness, if you use it enough, it will become crutch for you(mentally).That is, if you rely on the pleasure from a substance to solve problems, it become another problem. Prayers for you.

That’s why it’s so important to fill your daily lives with lots of activities and set goals. IMO, moderation is key to enjoying things like alcohol or pot. Don’t ever rely upon these activities to get through the day.

 

[jilly4ski]

If the Church has a problem with the criminality surrounding cannabis, and supporting organised crime, than what about in countries where cannabis is tolerated such as California, Amsterdam, Nepal, Afghanistan, Morocco???

Proof the weed is a stupid dangerous drug. Though quite funny to us non-users.youtube.com/watch?v=QJynLFgXUN4

And you have never been to California during harvest time have you? There is a poster on these forums who lives in CA around the area that grows pot for medical purposes. And the crops make the area stink driving down property values bringing crime to the area and if you get anywhere close to the fields you will get shot. So much for legality. Her daughter is also allergic to pot smoke and had a few trips to the emergency room because of their neighbors smoke. Yeah that’s safe.

 

[runwaymodel]

What you are saying is simply not true. There is a difference between drunkenness with alcohol and inebriation with cannabis. Secondly, marijuana has an immediate effect upon someone who never uses it. Repeated use creates a bodily tolerance which requires more of the THC to enter the bloodstream to reproduce the same effect. This is one of the reasons why some say that marijuana use leads to more dangerous drugs, because the ability to achieve the same “high” changes with more frequent and habitual use.
A mild sense of relaxation? Only if you’ve smoked enough for long enough to develop that kind of tolerance. You are misleading anyone who reads your statement to believe that what is little more than your own body resisting the drug makes it less dangerous for themselves. In other words, your experience as a frequent user of the drug doesn’t translate across the board to someone who has never used it before. And as such by making that statement you are in danger of leading someone else into sin.

Furthermore it is not fine to get tipsy. Who told you that? I would like you to give the source of your information in terms of Church teaching that shows clearly that there is a distinction between levels of inebriation that reduces culpability in correlation. You’re merely using your own clouded judgement as a standard of measurement. How does what you believe measure up against what the Church teaches? What does the Church teach about alcohol use and abuse? Give quotes with your answers.

Furthermore, the Bible does not state the numbers of tipsy people at the wedding at Cana. It does not make any statement whatsoever about inebriation of any kind. You insert that into the text by inference according to your own prejudice but God has already forbidden drunkenness in countless passages in the Old and New Testaments. I said it is possible to have a small amount of wine and not feel anything, That is the principle of self-control, which is a virtue that we are all called to exercise. Self-control, is after all, the antidote to any sin of excess, and drunkenness(drinking so that you feel the effect of alcohol) is a deliberate sin of excess.

The law calls marijuana a narcotic. That is what I am referring to in terms of the moral obligation we have to obey the laws of our government. Until marijuana use becomes legal, to use it is to break the law and then to break the law of our government is a sin.

Ultimately we will answer to God regardless of how we deceive ourselves into calling sin anything other than what it is: forbidden by God.

:clapping::clapping::clapping: