Is smoking Marijuana sinful?

[ThomasToo]

Why are there two separate threads on this subject. This one which is called "Is smoking marijuana sinful? and the other called,“What are the teachings of the church about marijuana?”

I could be wrong in my reasoning, but are not these two the same thing. Church teaching determines what is sinful.

Not necessarily; Church teaching is, at least to a degree, fluid on the question. Usury–the lending of money at interest–used to be a hell-worthy trespass and slavery was not counted amongst the moral sins.

Part of the problem there seems to be on this point is that the Catechism is somewhat ambiguous mentioning only ‘drugs’ which could be so broad as to include aspirin–which seems beyond unlikely–or narrow enough to exclude an unrefined plant (e.g. marijuana, cf. opium). Further, a lot of people seem to be under the impression that one hit off one joint it enough to make someone blindingly stoned which simply isn’t the case so under the rubric of intoxication as sin.

Further, some people are conflating social issues caused by the fact that marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic (e.g. drug cartels and their component murder, torture &c) and the use of the plant as such.

All told, people are conflating a great many things that oughtn’t to be and whether an act is sinful as such and whether the Church says it is seems to be another such conflation.

 

[ManOnFire]

When the brain is faced with the choice between pushing a pleasure button (getting stoned) vs. offering up one’s life in the pursuit of sacrificial love for others in order to fall in Love so the heart can sing so that the next generation will learn True Love and the deepest way to live, at face value, which of the 2 do you think the brain will choose??? In an ideal world, we all have just the right amount of willpower to avoid excess, but just look at all the services out there to help us stop our addictions because we were too weak in the first place.

 

[ThomasToo]

When the brain is faced with the choice between pushing a pleasure button (getting stoned) vs. offering up one’s life in the pursuit of sacrificial love for others in order to fall in Love so the heart can sing so that the next generation will learn True Love and the deepest way to live, at face value, which of the 2 do you think the brain will choose??? In an ideal world, we all have just the right amount of willpower to avoid excess, but just look at all the services out there to help us stop our addictions because we were too weak in the first place.

So we ought never to do anything which brings us pleasure?

 

[ManOnFire]

So we ought never to do anything which brings us pleasure?

If a teen can be high in 5 minutes, how are you going to convince them to one day offer up their lives for others via sacrificial love? At least beer takes time to take effect, you get a bloated stomach, and you have a bad hangover the next day. Drugs are just too easy and fast. Unfortunately, some people will become addicted to a life of shallow pleasures rather than lives of emotional and spiritual depth, and people are worth more than this.

 

[ThomasToo]

If a teen can be high in 5 minutes, how are you going to convince them to one day offer up their lives for others via sacrificial love? At least beer takes time to take effect, you get a bloated stomach, and you have a bad hangover the next day. Drugs are just too easy and fast. Unfortunately, some people will become addicted to a life of shallow pleasures rather than lives of emotional and spiritual depth, and people are worth more than this.

Surely then Everclear ought to be made illegal… And Long Island iced teas…

 

[sean_jackson]

If a teen can be high in 5 minutes, how are you going to convince them to one day offer up their lives for others via sacrificial love? At least beer takes time to take effect, you get a bloated stomach, and you have a bad hangover the next day. Drugs are just too easy and fast. Unfortunately, some people will become addicted to a life of shallow pleasures rather than lives of emotional and spiritual depth, and people are worth more than this.

I think i’m starting to get a better grasp of this issue. It’s not either extreme here. One being if you smoke marijuana and don’t go to confession your going to hell. The other being I am allowed to drink beer and in a country where it’s legal i can smoke weed and it will always be good for me no matter what the Spirit is telling me as I advance in holiness and God’s will for my life.

I am reminded of Saint Paul in the Scriptures where he talks about things being ok for others but not for him and also where he mentions putting the old ways of the child away.

Sorry i’m no Scripture Scholar or Apologist. That’s the best I could do right now.

And it could be a sin for me to continue on without latching on better to grace and increasing my zeal for God. But others should not tell me that the Church without a doubt says I’m sinning.

 

[LilyM]

Yes, they could do these things but NONE of these things produce any where near the kind of income that drugs produce. Some people are making millions of dollars off of drugs steadily…you can’t make that kind of money those old fashioned ways.

Credit card skimming? Internet phishing for people’s financial details? There are some very easy and profitable ways to make money from fraud, well able to produce the same income as drugs. And phishing in particular is low-risk being it’s net based and so difficult to track down the perpetrators, who may well not be operating in the same country as their victims.

Not to mention that legalising marijuana wouldn’t even lessen the amount of money to be made out of drugs. Not only are the harder drugs still available and lucrative, but marijuana, even if legal, wouldn’t be available, for example, to teens - money could be made by selling it to them.

 

[ThomasToo]

Not to mention that legalising marijuana wouldn’t even lessen the amount of money to be made out of drugs. Not only are the harder drugs still available and lucrative, but marijuana, even if legal, wouldn’t be available, for example, to teens - money could be made by selling it to them.

Is there a huge market for selling teens alcohol and booze I don’t know about? Surely these individuals would just expand their goings on…

 

[BobObob]

Not to mention that legalising marijuana wouldn’t even lessen the amount of money to be made out of drugs. Not only are the harder drugs still available and lucrative, but marijuana, even if legal, wouldn’t be available, for example, to teens - money could be made by selling it to them.

The legal, but controlled, status of alcohol makes it much more difficult for teens to get their hand on than harder drugs (because drug dealers don’t check Ids, but legal venues often do).

 

[bingbang]

Credit card skimming? Internet phishing for people’s financial details? There are some very easy and profitable ways to make money from fraud, well able to produce the same income as drugs. And phishing in particular is low-risk being it’s net based and so difficult to track down the perpetrators, who may well not be operating in the same country as their victims.

Not to mention that legalising marijuana wouldn’t even lessen the amount of money to be made out of drugs. Not only are the harder drugs still available and lucrative, but marijuana, even if legal, wouldn’t be available, for example, to teens - money could be made by selling it to them.

Does anyone make money selling liquor to kids? No, of course not. Kids just find someone older than the age to buy it for them and maybe throw them 10 extra bucks.

 

[bingbang]

The legal, but controlled, status of alcohol makes it much more difficult for teens to get their hand on than harder drugs (because drug dealers don’t check Ids, but legal venues often do).

I can attest to this. Getting alcohol was a pain in high school but getting weed was as easy as making a phone call and meeting someone.

 

[John_Pascendi]

"Caffeine stimulates the brain, elevates the mood and postpones fatigue. It also enhances performance at simple intellectual tasks, and at physical work that involves endurance, but not fine motor co-ordination. (Caffeine-caused tremor can reduce hand steadiness.) If you consume caffeine before bedtime, you will likely take longer to get to sleep, sleep for a shorter time and sleep less deeply.

Contrary to popular belief, drinking coffee will not help you to “sober up” if you’ve had too much alcohol. The caffeine will make you more alert, but your co-ordination and concentration will still be impaired.

Too much caffeine can give you a headache, upset your stomach, make you nervous and jittery and leave you unable to sleep. Some people feel these effects even with a very small amount. Larger doses of caffeine, especially when consumed by people who don’t usually take caffeine, can cause rapid heartbeat, convulsions and even delirium.

How long does the feeling last?

When taken in beverage form, caffeine begins to take effect within five minutes, and reaches its peak effect in about 30 minutes. It takes about four hours for half of a given dose of caffeine to be metabolized by the body. Normally, almost all ingested caffeine is metabolized, and there is no day-to-day accumulation of the drug in the body. "

camh.net/about_addiction_mental_health/drug_and_addiction_information/caffeine_dyk.html

Caffeine also Impairs your mental state but Ive never herd of it being a sin? I am probably just misinformed.

When one is so weak and stupid as to ruin ones body…well thats the way it goes…so many of the smart a…here would never put cheap oil into their auto…or wear shoes that are too small etc etc…but they are so brainwashed that they think its cool…word changed from indifferent to with it…or contemporary…its cool to puff on the weed! I have a long list of movie stars,singers,etc etc.like todays tribute to the king…king! Elvis died at age 42…he was an average talent who had enormous money behind him…they pushed him to the limit and lo and behold…dead at 42…all hail the king of stupidity…Elvis!..these drug addicts are losers who only make money for the establishment.and the paid 'mourners’down there in graceland only add to this moronic tribute to a loser! I am a lifelong bodybuilder and now a volunteer fitness trainer at the local senior center…the local high school kids wander past on their lunch hour and look dirty and vacant minded…not all,only the cool ones…remember that ad years ago…you cant fool mother nature…puff away and make money for the left wing establishemt…like pavlovs mutts you are conditioned to defend a wrong…to me its a sound mind in a sound body…Pas

 

[ThomasToo]

These drug addicts are losers.

That hardly sounds like a charitable attitude for a group many of whom have a diagnosable clinical disorder (DSM-IV 304.x0).

 

[bingbang]

When one is so weak and stupid as to ruin ones body…well thats the way it goes…so many of the smart a…here would never put cheap oil into their auto…or wear shoes that are too small etc etc…but they are so brainwashed that they think its cool…word changed from indifferent to with it…or contemporary…its cool to puff on the weed! I have a long list of movie stars,singers,etc etc.like todays tribute to the king…king! Elvis died at age 42…he was an average talent who had enormous money behind him…they pushed him to the limit and lo and behold…dead at 42…all hail the king of stupidity…Elvis!..these drug addicts are losers who only make money for the establishment.and the paid 'mourners’down there in graceland only add to this moronic tribute to a loser! I am a lifelong bodybuilder and now a volunteer fitness trainer at the local senior center…the local high school kids wander past on their lunch hour and look dirty and vacant minded…not all,only the cool ones…remember that ad years ago…you cant fool mother nature…puff away and make money for the left wing establishemt…like pavlovs mutts you are conditioned to defend a wrong…to me its a sound mind in a sound body…Pas

What does elvis have to do with anything? Did he even smoke weed? I thought he was on all sorts of pain killers and was eating an absolutely ridiculous amount of food per day.

How does weed make money for the “left wing establishment.” This whole post is incoherent.

 

[Monte_RCMS]

Just thought I’d look in on this thread and see how you all are doing.

We do have one post that suggests that smoking marijuana makes you “dopey”. Sort of out there, mellow, not a care in the world.

Has anyone gone ahead and listed all the chemical ingredients found in marijuana?

A lot of defensiveness, but not much actual interest in listing the ingredients.

And why would that be?

What harmful substances could there possibly be in marijuana?

 

[bingbang]

Just thought I’d look in on this thread and see how you all are doing.

We do have one post that suggests that smoking marijuana makes you “dopey”. Sort of out there, mellow, not a care in the world.

Has anyone gone ahead and listed all the chemical ingredients found in marijuana?

A lot of defensiveness, but not much actual interest in listing the ingredients.

And why would that be?

What harmful substances could there possibly be in marijuana?

What does it matter what marijuana is made up of. Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen (H2O) and hydrogen peroxide is also made up of hydrogen and oxygen (H202). One of these is needed for life, the other will kill you if you ingest it. It doesn’t matter what the substance is made up of, it matters what the sum of the chemicals makes.

 

[John_Pascendi]

What does elvis have to do with anything? Did he even smoke weed? I thought he was on all sorts of pain killers and was eating an absolutely ridiculous amount of food per day.

How does weed make money for the “left wing establishment.” This whole post is incoherent.

The left likes it when the peasants are stoned…for then they are easier to control! A person who has to rely on drugs for a high instead of prayer,or playing with their children or going to church and worshipping God instead of the almighty state…will always vote for a nanny government…one who 'cares’about them …yeh sure! This happened in Nazi germany when the enemy was the Jews.the cause of all of Germansy ills the socialists bleated! In this country its capitalism and the heat of competition,or the morals inflicted upon us by an outdate church etc etc. Drugs were once called “dope” but when more and more middle class started going to college that was changed to more inviting titles…weed,grass…pot ,fantasy,etc etc…during the dark days of russian rule in Poland etc…free vodka was given each weekend to the slaves so that they would be drunk and not rebel against the nanny state…its an ole trick by the left! well heres to ya…cheers!!!

 

[sean_jackson]

youtube.com/watch?v=d20nzljVYPM

Thanks for the link about the Monks. It really puts things in perspective.

Does smoking pot lead you away from a life of greater sacrifice?

As we all know, it really boils down to Our Lords death on the cross.

We are all called to work really hard like he did, and one reminder the Church gives us is the image of a crucifix, to participate in saving Souls Just like God does.

 

[Spirithound]

Has anyone gone ahead and listed all the chemical ingredients found in marijuana?

I found a list of the cannabinoids in marijuana. I have reproduced the chart and linked to it in post #133.

 

[Soulewolf]

Illegal acts necessary for furthering any culture. Furthering it to what? How about immoral acts?

New behaviors? Technological “advances” such as the Atomic Bomb, Abortion, and Contraception. Technology can be used for good – if those who receive the advance use it that way.

Illegal acts are not necessarily sinful – depends upon those who create the law, what the law is and how it is enforced: Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Khmer Rouge, People’s Republic Of China are contemporaneous examples. In the USA, the “Jim Crow” laws, slavery, lynching and many others. Immoral acts are sinful.

nods i was just trying to express that law that goes against scripture is not the only kind of law that should be disregarded or changed.

to answer your question, to further society to a more morally enlightened culture.