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FiremanFrank
Guest
Is “smoking” marijuana a sin?.
No, definitely not!
But only if you don’t inhale.
frank
No, definitely not!
But only if you don’t inhale.
frank
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snowgarden
Guest
I think anything that impares your judgement causing you to hurt others (physically and verbally) would be a sin…including alcohol and tobacco, also. (I don’t care if Jesus drank wine; alcohol still causes more trouble than its worth.) My BIL becomes so mean and hateful when he smokes, not mellow like the stereotype. A person driving under the influence could cause an accident killing the innocents. So, yeah, I think it’s a sin that can be mortal depending on the results.
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Benadam
Guest
St Paul said, " for me nothing is forbidden but not all does good."
Smoking marijuana could possibly have a good purpose. Suppose a missionary would cause insult to possible converts if participation in a unifying ceremony were avoided. In this instance smoking marijuana would do good and little harm if any harm at all. For the most part though smoking marijuana is at the very least dangerous to the immature at most a great hindrance to growth as a human being. There is usually very little or on reason at all to smoke it. I would say most people smoking marijuana are sinning when they do so.
Smoking marijuana could possibly have a good purpose. Suppose a missionary would cause insult to possible converts if participation in a unifying ceremony were avoided. In this instance smoking marijuana would do good and little harm if any harm at all. For the most part though smoking marijuana is at the very least dangerous to the immature at most a great hindrance to growth as a human being. There is usually very little or on reason at all to smoke it. I would say most people smoking marijuana are sinning when they do so.
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Rand_Al_Thor
Guest
Kevin Walker:
alcohal is a depressant and nicotine is a stimulant.
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Tazgurl21
Guest
Yes i think smoking marijuana is a sin. even though i use to smoke it when i was 17 thank God I changed my life completely. I talked to my boyfriend about that bad habit I had and he helped me stop doing it. But now he passed away three years ago. I still kep the promise i made him. Attending church every sunday is helping me not to go back to my old ways. So, i’m a good girl now.
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Jesusismyhomie
Guest
No i dont not think it is a sin. If it is a sin then why did god make it? Pot is a plant not something someone coocked up or made. There are many medical uses for this drug such as glaucoma and to treat the wasting syndrome that comes from having aids. If it is use excessively then maybe it can be a sin. Also if pot is a sinthen alcohol should be one too. It ****s up your life just as bad as pot does.
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fix
Guest
You should go back in these posts and read what JPII said. Pot is always sinful, unless for medical use. Alcohol is only sinful if used to excess.
Just because something is natural, does not make it good for human use.
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Lisa4Catholics
Guest
Michael C:
I am not advocating pot ,but the point is interesting because morphene gets you high,so does tha pain meds doctors give out in fact I am taking zoloft for depression and it alters your state of mind.I agree with the Church but under that definition the legality would change its status would it not?Or if it were made legal and prescribed for an illness is that what would change its status?I have a family member who is highly addicted to pain pills to the point she breaks her own bones.So at this point I am wondering if the perscriptions are mortal sins as well.
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Laurel
Guest
Anything that a person does in excess that harms themselves would be a sin if smoking marijuana is a sin. Alcohol, food, cigarettes, prescription pain killers and anti-depressants and such would have to be in that category. Being illegal and being a sin are not necessarily one in the same. Having lived with an extermely violent alcoholic I can remember a time when I really thought that alcohol should be illegal…but I see now that that is futile. Besides, we all know what happened during prohobition. I think, as others have said, that if it were legalized many problems would be solved and the government could tax it too!.
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AlanFromWichita
Guest
It is interesting you mention that it does not take effort on our part. This is really the point of contemplative prayer, where we “escape” our usual busy train of thoughts, and by escaping thus we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us in ways that no human effort could bring about. Effort, except for the non-effort being exerted by one’s body and mind when one is engaging in contemplative prayer – getting oneself out of the way to lovingly invite the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Maybe drugs seem more compelling because some people report years of contemplative practices before experiencing any real change of consciousness. Drugs can do it quicker. After all, in this instant gratification society we can’t be exercising faith and waiting for the Holy Spirit to act, can we?
Alan
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cynic
Guest
Getting intoxicated with alcohol is described as a sin time and again in the bible. It’s unilikely that purposely getting stoned is any different.
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fix
Guest
If the substance has an authentic medical use, it would not be immoral. Getting high as an end unto itself is wrong. A change in mentation or euphoric feeling as a result of a medication is not immoral. The desired effect is to alleviate pain and that means euphoria with most prescription narcotics.I am not advocating pot ,but the point is interesting because morphene gets you high,so does tha pain meds doctors give out in fact I am taking zoloft for depression and it alters your state of mind.I agree with the Church but under that definition the legality would change its status would it not?Or if it were made legal and prescribed for an illness is that what would change its status?I have a family member who is highly addicted to pain pills to the point she breaks her own bones.So at this point I am wondering if the perscriptions are mortal sins as well.
Someone addicted to these medications is a whole different category.
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mikev
Guest
Only because it is against the law… If it wasn’t against the law; it probably wouldn’t be if used in moderation.
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AlanFromWichita
Guest
Then again, why did Jesus drink alcohol with sinners? Did they drink to reduce risk of heart disease and only felt euphoria, if at all, as a side effect?
Also keep in mind there can be mental pain and anguish, for which psychoactive drugs are routinely prescribed. It might be interesting to investigate the thin line between wanting to “get high” and wanting to “escape the pain.”
I wish I could find this one quote I thought was in the NT about alcohol being for the dying. I figured pot might fall into that category, but I’d need to see the actual quote in context again.
Agreed.
Alan
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fix
Guest
Are you saying Jesus drank to get drunk? Intentionally drinking to get drunk is a sin.
These are separate issues. I am not seeing what point you are trying to make? Psychiatric drugs do not usually produce the euphoria that opioids produce. If the use is therapeutic, it would not be sinful.
Again, JPII said wine is licit, but other drugs used to get high are always illcit.
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Lisa_N
Guest
Given there were not too many alternatives, no refrigeration, and a desert climate, wine seems like a reasonably appropriate choice. I am sure people got a bit of a buzz then as now, but the choice of wine was simply what people drank. No way of preserving grape juice until Mr Welch came along.
FWIW escaping the pain is not the same as treating it. Using marijuana rather than dealing with a mental illness through appropriate medication or therapy is not a good idea.
Also in the FWIW department, I just heard a study linking early marijuana use with increase in mental illness later in life. I just do not think this drug is the innocuous recreational substance that tokers claim it is.
Lisa N
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Fortiterinre
Guest
I think the traditional teaching is yes, both because it violates a just and fair law AND because it is considered disproportionately harmful. Compare to tobacco, which traditionally is considered not sinful because it is not illegal and is theoretically more of an extravagance than a disproportionate harm. Fr. John Corapi the other day said he considered tobacco pretty much sinful (if I understood the part of the sermon I heard) because we now know much more about it. I tend to disagree and think tobacco is still an extravagance, but I think marijuana is too harmful to be put in this category. I do not smoke either one, BTW!
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AlanFromWichita
Guest
No, I’m asking why you think Jesus and His followers drank. Was it therapeutic, or was it recreational? You have given therapeutic v recreational as a measure of sinfulness for consuming a mind-altering substance. My question is, what possible reason, then, could have driven Jesus to drink? Was He endorsing or at least accepting recreational use of this substance?
Lisa N made a good point, and it is similar to one my favorite retired priest has made. However, it doesn’t explain why Jesus specifically made the distinction between Himself and John the Baptist. Perhaps He made the distinction because judging another person by what they consume consumption is a worse problem than the consumption itself? Combine this with the teaching about what comes out of your mouth being more important than what goes into it, and I think we may be getting close. On that same note, Paul said that for him all things were lawful, just not all things are useful. Whether marijuana use or alcohol consumption is good or bad is not my point, but whether it is sinful.
Again, I am also speaking separate from the issue of legality, since it is not illegal in all places this forum covers.
The point I’m trying to make is that if the drug is made to reduce pain or to heal, and it happens to produce an altered state of awareness, then what difference does it make whether the pain is from a physical or mental illness. Then, if it is from a mental illness, how are we to justify whether we are in sufficient anguish to receive drug therapy? Finally, is it a matter of being prescribed by a physician, in which case we really need to be drinking under the guidance of a physician, too.
Once we have determined whether easing mental pain is as valid a reason as easing physical pain, then we can go on to a more important point, which is how much pain relief does it take to cross the line between necessary therapy and gratuitous recreation. This can becomes a quantitative issue rather than a qualitative one, completely blurring the line between sin and no sin.
That’s quite a curious statement. I’m interested to hear more about his views. Would he consider Amsterdam evil for allowing there to be marijuana bars?
Alan
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Lisa_N
Guest
Given that Jesus loved to eat and drink and was criticized for it, I suspect he didn’t have an issue that wine not only tasted good, could be stored in a desert climate without spoiling but also provided some higher spirits…ooh no pun intended.
I think the issue is that we appreciate wine as a gift of God, used for its intended purpose, is not sinful. But overimbibing has been considered sinful since the days prior to Jesus.
FWIW the differentiation is that marijuana does not have that gradual and controllable effect. I know from experience that if I drink one glass of wine I get a nice buzz (I don’t drink much so that’s why it doesn’t take much!). If I drink five glasses I am stumbling around, cannot drive and have horrible headache the next day. Now speaking from (long past) experience, marijuana’s effects could be very sudden, very slow, could be transient or very long term. It was way too easy to get in way too deep. The level of THC, the way it’s injested, your own level of resistence all play into this problem. So it’s very very easy to abuse. I simply do not know of someone who is a ‘social’ marijuana smoker. People smoke to get stoned. But not everyone drinks to get drunk and if they do, well they have a serious problem.
Do you wonder though if John’s ascetism was self imposed and a way of setting himself apart? Sort of like the purification rituals of the Essenes. Not everyone was expected to follow suit. Jesus obviously saw no compelling reason for everyone to live on locusts and wild honey and wear scratchy clothing. So I’m not sure how that fits into the discussion…did John think Jesus sinful for drinking wine and enjoying food? I don’t know.
As to the sinful nature of alcohol or marijuana, if the latter is illegal then yes it’s sinful. Over imbibing seems to get bad press in both Hebrew Bible and NT. Since IME marijuana cannot be controlled as to dosage and effect, I just don’t see how it can be considered a life affirming activity.
Lisa N
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Piusx
Guest
**Dont smoke MJ before Mass.
It makes the Mass seem hours longer.
Its not the right place to get the munchies.
and
You forget everything that was just preached to you.
LOL**
It makes the Mass seem hours longer.
Its not the right place to get the munchies.
and
You forget everything that was just preached to you.
LOL**
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