Drinking alcohol and smoking pot – what are your thoughts?

[Christian_Unity]

I’ve been to various Protestant churches…some discourage drinking, others prohibit it, and still others have no problem with it. I believe Catholics drink just like me. Since marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, and medical marijuana is legal in many states, what do you believe about drinking and smoking pot?

 

[JonNC]

I’ve been to various Protestant churches…some discourage drinking, others prohibit it, and still others have no problem with it. I believe Catholics drink just like me. Since marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, and medical marijuana is legal in many states, what do you believe about drinking and smoking pot?

Prohibitions on consumption of alcohol are unscriptural. Over-consumption is, and drunkenness is often linked to gluttony (and no one prohibits food as a result).

This issue is always about how what we do effects the way we act, and how we effect others around us. If we are drunk or high, do we act in such a way that reflects that we are in Christ?

Jon

 

[Jala]

I’ve been to various Protestant churches…some discourage drinking, others prohibit it, and still others have no problem with it. I believe Catholics drink just like me. Since marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, and medical marijuana is legal in many states, what do you believe about drinking and smoking pot?

I’m not Catholic, but my personal position is that if you live in a state where marijuana is legal, and you choose to partake, you should use the same restraint as you would with alcohol. Partaking is one thing; overindulging is a different matter.

I really have no desire to use marijuana, so if it became legal in my state, I still wouldn’t use it. But to each his own.

Jala

 

[Christian_Unity]

Prohibitions on consumption of alcohol are unscriptural. Over-consumption is, and drunkenness is often linked to gluttony (and no one prohibits food as a result).

This issue is always about how what we do effects the way we act, and how we effect others around us. If we are drunk or high, do we act in such a way that reflects that we are in Christ?

Jon

Can Christians smoke pot in Washington and Colorado if they have a clear conscience before God? It sure seems medical marijuana usage by Christians where it is legal is a good idea too.

 

[Publisher]

I’m for either in moderation. Don’t see too much difference in having a cocktail after a long day or when with a group of friends…nor do I find anything wrong with pot used also in moderation.

I’m 100% for medical marijuana. Would like to see recreational use approved.

Anything which is done in excess that causes damage to the body is wrong and should not be engaged in. We have much more “deadly” “vices” allowed than cannibis use.

 

[Christian_Unity]

I’m not Catholic, but my personal position is that if you live in a state where marijuana is legal, and you choose to partake, you should use the same restraint as you would with alcohol. Partaking is one thing; overindulging is a different matter.

I really have no desire to use marijuana, so if it became legal in my state, I still wouldn’t use it. But to each his own.

Jala

I would agree with your view. I can also use the same biblical defense for drinking as the same biblical defense for legal pot usage. What is not done in faith is sin. You don’t want to stumble weaker brothers regarding these issues too…

 

[Christian_Unity]

I’m for either in moderation. Don’t see too much difference in having a cocktail after a long day or when with a group of friends…nor do I find anything wrong with pot used also in moderation.

I’m 100% for medical marijuana. Would like to see recreational use approved.

Anything which is done in excess that causes damage to the body is wrong and should not be engaged in. We have much more “deadly” “vices” allowed than cannibis use.

I find it interesting that it passed in Washington but not in Oregon. Any ideas what happened between the two Pacific Northwest states on the issue of legalized pot?

 

[Chrish1975]

I’ve been to various Protestant churches…some discourage drinking, others prohibit it, and still others have no problem with it. I believe Catholics drink just like me. Since marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, and medical marijuana is legal in many states, what do you believe about drinking and smoking pot?

Well I believe in drinking alcohol in moderation, so one doesn’t become intoxicated. However, with marijuana one immediately becomes intoxicated so I don’t think that is good for the person. I tried marijuana when I was a teenager and hated it.

 

[Dolezal]

I’ve been to various Protestant churches…some discourage drinking, others prohibit it, and still others have no problem with it. I believe Catholics drink just like me. Since marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, and medical marijuana is legal in many states, what do you believe about drinking and smoking pot?

It is not Catholic to prohibit alcohol. The best beers are Trappist beers, such as Leffe, Chimay, Westmalle. Prohibiting alcohol is a child’s idea of morality.

There is no sin in consuming alcoholic beverages as long as it doesn’t lead to drunkenness. The same goes for marijuana, but the effects of marijuana and different strains of marijuana are very different per person, so I think it is probably best to avoid it.

 

[Christian_Unity]

Well I believe in drinking alcohol in moderation, so one doesn’t become intoxicated. However, with marijuana one immediately becomes intoxicated so I don’t think that is good for the person. I tried marijuana when I was a teenager and hated it.

I’m not advocating or promoting pot usage for everyone. I’m more curious about how we as Christians tend to create rules of legalism in our Christian circles. It seems to me that Paul’s argument against the prohibition of drinking is the same argument that can be used against the prohibition of pot (especially medical marijuana usage). I know Catholics drink as compared to other Chrtstians such as Fundamentalist Baptist Christians, so it’s interesting to see how Catholics and other Christians discern the cultural change of legalized marijuana.

 

[Christian_Unity]

It is not Catholic to prohibit alcohol. The best beers are Trappist beers, such as Leffe, Chimay, Westmalle. Prohibiting alcohol is a child’s idea of morality.

There is no sin in consuming alcoholic beverages as long as it doesn’t lead to drunkenness. The same goes for marijuana, but the effects of marijuana and different strains of marijuana are very different per person, so I think it is probably best to avoid it.

Some medical studies show that drinking is worst for your health than pot. In addition, more traffic accidents are caused by drinking than smoking pot. Would it be wiser to say that for some people, pot shoud be avoided. Could smoking legalized pot be left to a person’s conscience before God? Medical marijuana is controlled and dispensed within government control in Oregon, so the kind of pot is known by the user.

 

[Nan_S]

Alcohol is water-soluble, and the effects of it leave your system in a day as the chemicals are washed from your system (so long as you don’t keep re-imbibing, that is…).

Marijuana is fat-soluble, and the effects of it stay with you for a long while after the “buzz” wears off. Fat-soluble chemicals can be detected in your body for up to three months after last use. Any chemical which can put a long-term depressant drag on my system is something I pointedly avoid.

And then there’s the whole issue about affecting everyone around you with the nauseating sickly-sweet smoke. Ordinary tobacco is just nasty; marijuana smoke takes “nasty” to a whole new level.

 

[Glomung]

There is nothing morally wrong with the recreational use of any “drug”, whether alcohol, pot, opium, or coffee. The problem arises when the substance is used to the point that it interferes with the daily functioning of the user.

About smoking, a living saint once said - “Make sure that it is you that has the habit and that the habit does not have you.”

I quit smoking in 2001, that stuff will kill you!

 

[Christian_Unity]

Alcohol is water-soluble, and the effects of it leave your system in a day as the chemicals are washed from your system (so long as you don’t keep re-imbibing, that is…).

Marijuana is fat-soluble, and the effects of it stay with you for a long while after the “buzz” wears off. Fat-soluble chemicals can be detected in your body for up to three months after last use. Any chemical which can put a long-term depressant drag on my system is something I pointedly avoid.

And then there’s the whole issue about affecting everyone around you with the nauseating sickly-sweet smoke. Ordinary tobacco is just nasty; marijuana smoke takes “nasty” to a whole new level.

Do you think Rome would make a dogmatic declaration that Catholics cannot smoke legalized pot? Or can certain Catholics or Protestants smoke legalized pot according to their own conscience before God?

 

[Swiss_Guy]

I’ve been to various Protestant churches…some discourage drinking, others prohibit it, and still others have no problem with it. I believe Catholics drink just like me. Since marijuana is now legal in Washington and Colorado, and medical marijuana is legal in many states, what do you believe about drinking and smoking pot?

Drinking is ok in moderation; i.e don’t get drunk. Pot is not okay because it gets a person “high” immediately, unlike alcohol. Being able to control what you are doing is something that God made us to do.

 

[Christian_Unity]

There is nothing morally wrong with the recreational use of any “drug”, whether alcohol, pot, opium, or coffee. The problem arises when the substance is used to the point that it interferes with the daily functioning of the user.

About smoking, a living saint once said - “Make sure that it is you that has the habit and that the habit does not have you.”

I quit smoking in 2001, that stuff will kill you!

Unlike certain Protestants circles, is it correct to assume that Catholics are allowed to drink and smoke tobacco according to their own conscience. This might sound strange, but I went to a Christian college which required you to sign a contract that you wouldn’t drink or smoke tobacco, or dance as a student. I think the issue here is Christian liberty and legalism. Paul does speak about man made rules of do not taste, do not touch, do not handle, etc…

 

[pig]

Alcohol is water-soluble, and the effects of it leave your system in a day as the chemicals are washed from your system (so long as you don’t keep re-imbibing, that is…).

Marijuana is fat-soluble, and the effects of it stay with you for a long while after the “buzz” wears off. Fat-soluble chemicals can be detected in your body for up to three months after last use. Any chemical which can put a long-term depressant drag on my system is something I pointedly avoid.

And then there’s the whole issue about affecting everyone around you with the nauseating sickly-sweet smoke. Ordinary tobacco is just nasty; marijuana smoke takes “nasty” to a whole new level.

Alcohol is water-soluble, and the effects of it leave your system in a day as the chemicals are washed from your system (so long as you don’t keep re-imbibing, that is…).

Marijuana is fat-soluble, and the effects of it stay with you for a long while after the “buzz” wears off. Fat-soluble chemicals can be detected in your body for up to three months after last use. Any chemical which can put a long-term depressant drag on my system is something I pointedly avoid.

And then there’s the whole issue about affecting everyone around you with the nauseating sickly-sweet smoke. Ordinary tobacco is just nasty; marijuana smoke takes “nasty” to a whole new level.

and your brain is fat

Emperor Trajan of Ancient Rome heard of some new building or other going up and he commented ‘anything is better than another tavern’. Do people really need another tavern, pot, I thought there were political efforts to reduce tobacco and alcohol for health benefits.

 

[Christian_Unity]

Drinking is ok in moderation; i.e don’t get drunk. Pot is not okay because it gets a person “high” immediately, unlike alcohol. Being able to control what you are doing is something that God made us to do.

Does the Catholic Church prohibit the usage of legalized pot such as medical marijuana usage? I don’t think Catholics are against other pharmaceutical drugs when subscribed by doctors, correct?

 

[Christian_Unity]

and your brain is fat

Emperor Trajan of Ancient Rome heard of some new building or other going up and he commented ‘anything is better than another tavern’. Do people really need another tavern, pot, I thought there were political efforts to reduce tobacco and alcohol for health benefits.

Many states approve of medical marijuana. I’ve yet to hear of tobacco or alcohol described as medical usage… well maybe the Apostle Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his heath.

 

[Dolezal]

Some medical studies show that drinking is worst for your health than pot. In addition, more traffic accidents are caused by drinking than smoking pot. Would it be wiser to say that for some people, pot shoud be avoided. Could smoking legalized pot be left to a person’s conscience before God? Medical marijuana is controlled and dispensed within government control in Oregon, so the kind of pot is known by the user.

I live in the Netherlands where smoking marijuana is tolerated, even in public in most cities, and I know many people who smoke it while driving. But I also know that some people react very badly to it. Coldness, heart tremors, dizziness. Also, marijuana is a mood enhancer, if you are feeling low you will feel even worse. It really depends on the person and the marijuana strain (THC content).