Catholicism and Cannabis

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Tis_Bearself said:
the suggestion that cannabis is some big retreat from reality while beer is somehow not, is just plain illogical and lacks credibility.
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Watching a movie can be a big retreat from reality. The issue is not with the supposed benefit, but the cost.
 
StudentMI said:
I also encountered the ‘weed is good for you’ line there and was even assured it had cured someone of asthma.
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–And this is one reason I HATE pot: It comes with this nonsensical line of, “it helps me X.” X can be “sleep,” “get over anxiety,” “cure asthma,” etc. – and none of those things are worth becoming an ambitionless pothead for.

Asthma? Get an inhaler. Want help sleeping? Sheesh, take a benadryl.
 
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As someone with asthma I can also assure you it doesn’t cure it. I once took a hit of ‘wax’ and oh man was the coughing terrible.
 
Here’s my personal bottom line on the weed vs alcohol issue. A person that has a beer per day can still live up to one’s potential. This is VERY unlikely for the person than smokes a bowl per day. Nevermind the lung damage from the smoke, or vape (yes, there is still damage). And if one argues for ingesting it… well, that opens up a whole other can of questions and worms.

This is an issue you wont come anywhere near resolving untill you embrace complete honesty with yourself and come to terms with just how profound, insidious, and enduring the effects of this substance can be.

At least then if you do continue to use it for “medical” reasons, you will be better equipped to conduct a realistic cost/benefit risk/reward analysis.
 
I guess I’m reading something different in the OP’s statement about cannabis bringing him closer to God. I’m thinking along the line that “once I started taking a certain medication, my symptoms cleared. I was then able to clearly concentrate and see God in my life.” ( my word, not OP’s) For a while I suffered from depression which affected my relationship with God. Counseling and medication treated my depression. It was then that I began searching and found the Catholic Church.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
but the suggestion that cannabis is some big retreat from reality while beer is somehow not, is just plain illogical and lacks credibility.
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Yes, much of society agrees with you. But the CHURCH does not! I tend to listen to her.
2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.

2291 The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law.
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https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/faqs/is-marijuana-safe-because-its-legal.html
 
It’s questionable whether a naturally occurring substance is a “drug” and also whether alcohol and tobacco are somehow not “drugs”.

Nevertheless, I am aware that anti-cannabis people have their minds made up and think they have the moral high ground here, so I will take my leave of this thread. Just know that if you actually want to persuade people to not use cannabis in a world where the culture is legalizing cannabis, you’re not going to succeed with “Cannabis bad, alcohol good, and the Church says so.” It’s poor logic on the part of the Church, but the Church comes from a culture where alcohol and tobacco use in moderation was done by many of its members including clergy, religious and saints. It biases the Church view, big time.
 
ThomasMT said:
Here’s my personal bottom line on the weed vs alcohol issue. A person that has a beer per day can still live up to one’s potential. This is VERY unlikely for the person than smokes a bowl per day. Nevermind the lung damage from the smoke, or vape (yes, there is still damage). And if one argues for ingesting it… well, that opens up a whole other can of questions and worms.
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But that’s comparing apples and oranges. Someone who has a single beer after work would probably not be considered a heavy drinker by most people. A guy who smokes a bowl daily would probably be called a pretty serious pothead.

A better comparison would be the one beer a day guy and the guy who smokes weed very occasionally, like once every other monthish or something. I know people like that who are perfectly functional adults with solid careers.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Just know that if you actually want to persuade people to not use cannabis in a world where the culture is legalizing cannabis, you’re not going to succeed with “Cannabis bad, alcohol good, and the Church says so.”
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I don’t really care what the “world” thinks. But this is a “Catholic” forum, and it’s a prudent thing to let them know what the Church thinks about the legalization of recreational Marijuana usage. That’s all that really matters here. Just have a good look at the links from my earlier post.
 
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Mark121359 said:
But the CHURCH does not! I tend to listen to her.
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That language gets posted everytime this debate comes up. It doesn’t really settle anything. What constitutes a “drug”? Are all drugs equally “bad”? How do we square this with the Church being okay with alcohol and tobacco? Etc etc.
 
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StudentMI said:
Last I checked you don’t lose your reason when smoking a cigarette or having a beer.
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You don’t lose your reason when you smoke pot, either. Someone who has smoked a little pot isn’t like completely oblivious to the world around them.
 
Except there is no smoking pot without becoming intoxicated. Smoking a cigarette doesn’t alter your way of thinking. Having a beer for most people does not equate to a change in thinking.
 
StudentMI said:
Except there is no smoking pot without becoming intoxicated. Smoking a cigarette doesn’t alter your way of thinking. Having a beer for most people does not equate to a change in thinking.
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I think you’re making the assumption that any perception of the effects of alcohol = being totally drunk. There are degrees. What the church forbids is getting so smashed that you lose your reason and self control, not being slightly tipsy and dancing at a wedding.

Similarly, with pot there is a difference between the guy who occasionally puffs at a concert and gets a little buzz and the guy who has completely fried his brain by smoking massive joints daily.
 
StudentMI said:
Except there is no smoking pot without becoming intoxicated. Smoking a cigarette doesn’t alter your way of thinking. Having a beer for most people does not equate to a change in thinking.
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For all three, there are degrees of effect. The cognitive effect of one beer is small but measurable. The nicotine in one cigarette affects the brain in several ways, and nicotine is powerfully addictive.

Alcohol and tobacco carry some risk and cause some harm even when used in moderation. They are considered acceptable only because of history and culture.
 
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Beryllos said:
Alcohol and tobacco carry some risk and cause some harm even when used in moderation. They are considered acceptable only because of history and culture.
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There is no way that if we took the reasoning we use to evaluate marijuana and applied to alcohol in a totally disinterested, neutral way, we wouldn’t conclude that alcohol is verboten. We just have the weight of centuries of tradition and culture behind us that says this particular intoxicant is okay.
 
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