Is smoking weed wrong?

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Bookcat said:
“I join in saying no to every form of drugs. And perhaps it will do some good for everyone to say this, simply: no to every kind of drugs!”

~ Pope Francis

w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140507_udienza-generale.html
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It is not clear what is meant by “drugs”. Some people will say that alcoholic beverages are a drug or that nicotine or that caffeine is a drug. Mormons say no to coffee, but I don’t think that Roman Catholics do.
 
Tomdstone said:
It is not clear what is meant by “drugs”. Some people will say that alcoholic beverages are a drug or that nicotine or that caffeine is a drug. Mormons say no to coffee, but I don’t think that Roman Catholics do.
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Yes it is clear…see the CCC.

The CCC has a *different *section of what you ask.

www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a5.htm#2290

We rather know what is meant by “drugs” and by the phrase do not use drugs.

Not talking about tylenol.
 
Bookcat said:
What we mean when discussing the war on drugs…and drugs smuggled into the country.

That kind of drug.
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The CCC is not using the fact that something is illegal to define the term “drug” in the CCC. That goes against all logic. Substances go in and out of legality all around the world.
 
Bookcat said:
Another voice

ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/US.php?id=2012

"According to Fr. Coleman, there is “substantial evidence” that habitual and heavy marijuana smoking may cause chronic bronchitis, damage the pulmonary system and produce cancers in the mouth, throat and lungs though short-term effects seem to be no more harmful than moderate alcohol consumption.

The priest also cited the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, whose pastoral handbook “ Church, Drugs, and Drug Addiction” teaches that cannabis use is “incompatible with Christian morality” because it is an intoxicant that dims reason and potentially is damaging to the integrity of one’s body and soul."
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The problem with this statement, and others, is that the same thing can be said about alcohol.

People are looking for reason, not arbitrary answers.
 
1Lord1Faith said:
The CCC is not using the fact that something is illegal to define the term “drug” in the CCC. That goes against all logic. Substances go in and out of legality all around the world.
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Huh?

I never said it did.

Lets see what did I say?
Bookcat said:
And of course legal or not yes can effect the morality of an action - the fact that something is legal does not make an immoral action into a moral one.
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1Lord1Faith said:
The problem with this statement, and others, is that the same thing can be said about alcohol.

People are looking for reason, not arbitrary answers.
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Well…that is his quote from a whole document. One would have to go read the whole document to know what all they said.

The CATECHISM understands this so that is why it includes alcohol in a* different *article than “drug use”.

Alcohol can be used in an order fashion.

Those who wrote the quoted work I am sure do as we…and likely say much more on the matter that was not quoted.
 
Drugs can be used in an ordered, therapuetic or disordered manner - see heroin vs morphine, meth vs. desoxyn, weed vs. marinol. The difference is like the difference between cow and beef or bacon and pig, meaning, not much as far as the drug itself
 
EXCELLENT article in the January 2017 issue of Newsman. Pages 28 & 29:

WARNING: Legalizing pot endangers Newborns.

“As a flurry of states legalize marijuana, Colorado reports a surge in babies being born with the psychoactive drug THC in their bloodstreams.”

“In fact, one hospital … reported that nearly a third of babies tested from January 2015 to September 2016 had THC in their systems.”

“There are indications heavy pot smoking can harm cognitive development in teens.”

" … associated with lower IQ scores."

" … diminished school performance … "

" … decreased cognitive function …"
 
Whether or not a substance is illegal is hugely important in determining the morality of consumption of various substances.

A substance is morally neutral. A hammer is not immoral, but on the other hand murdering a person with a hammer is.

Marijuana is a God-given substance, similar to ice cream. It grows as part of God’s creation. (in fact ice cream is probably more harmful, but I digress)
If I smoke a small amount of marijuana under doctors orders, or a small amount where it is legal, it is not immoral any more than alcohol use.

Eating a small amount of ice cream is not immoral anywhere, but smoking a small amount of weed might be immoral, where it is prohibited by law.
It is immoral to disobey just laws.
vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c2a2.htm
PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE
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I. AUTHORITY
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Abusing it is immoral, as is the abuse of ice cream, whether or not it is illegal.

It is immoral to:
abuse… 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.
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or
use… drugs (which) inflict very grave damage on human health and life
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Crystal meth for example, has no use beneficial to a person, and no recreational benefit.
 
I would steer clear if I were you, It is quite degenerate to take recreational drugs, it will be a barrier for you becoming a strong man.
But if it was just a one off, don’t feel too bad,

Even if it was legal, I would view it in the same light as pornography , weak indulgences that can become addictive. Even if it won’t cause serious harm to your health, it can lead to depression and physical weakness, and generally isn’t the image to aim for
 
Generally speaking, psychoactive substances such as opium, heroin, cocaine, etc. are so addictive that even experimental use of such drugs can create a grave risk for some persons. To take such a risk (and who knows in advance their own vulnerability) is generally a mortal sin because it opens the way to self-destruction. The gravity of the use of marijuana, which seems not physiologically addictive, is less clear, but it is probable that its habitual use often leads to more serious addictions.
Living the Truth in Love, Fr. Benedict Ashley, OP
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Here’s the deal. It’s uncertain that the use of marijuana is not morally wrong. In other words, it’s uncertain that its use is morally permissible. **But **it is a sin to act without practical certainty that something is morally permissible. And it is a serious sin to act when there is a real possibility that the action at hand might be seriously wrong.

For example, if I go up to a closed office building and say to myself, “Well, there is probably no one inside,” and then fill the building with bullet holes using a semi-automatic, I still commit a formal sin of murder, even if no one ends up being killed… nevermind the sins of injustice, scandal, etc. that I also commit.

In a similar way – although the use of marijuana is not possibly as grave as murder – if I smoke marijuana without knowing whether or not it is morally permissible, because competent theologians cannot yet come to a decision on whether it is morally bad, then I cannot act in good conscience. Since there is a real possibility of it being not only slightly morally bad, but seriously morally bad, then to act would be formally a serious sin, even if it turns out, in the end, that marijuana use is not objectively (“materially”) wrong.

Thus, so far as current Catholic moral theology is concerned, the use of marijuana is not permitted.

Moreover, there is also the sin of grave scandal involved if one is an occasion for other persons to go ahead and act against their conscience.

(With that said, the use of marijuana is not intrinsically wrong, such as contraception is, and so if there is a sufficiently serious reason (such as, for example, very specific circumstantial medical usages for which there is no other substitute), then marijuana could be used. But recreation is not a sufficiently serious reason, and in order to determine what is sufficiently a serious reason, one would need the help of one expertly trained in Catholic moral theology or bioethics.)

Now, as to the OP, you don’t need to know any of that to examine your conscience on the matter. That just concerns future actions. Did you have certainty that what you were doing was permissible, but then only later came to doubt? If that is the case, then there’s no sin, although you might try and set a good example in the future, since you reinforced your friends’ actions. If you have pretty darn goods reasons that some of them trust you on moral matters and would take your advice, then you might encourage them in some way not to do it. This need not necessarily involve words, although it may. Otherwise, no worries, just continue to set a good example. If, on the other hand, you were uncertain that what you were doing was permissible, and you at least in a vague way saw that there is a real possibility of it being seriously wrong, then that’s something which needs to be mentioned in confession. Moreover, you are then really obliged to try and correct the situation to the extent that you damaged it. But if that is not possible, because the others would be unwilling to listen, you are not bound to do that at all.

If you are scrupling over this and are genuinely uncertain as to whether or not you sinned… you are under no obligation to confess. Doubtful mortal sins do not bind you to confess and refrain from Holy Communion. If you do decide to confess a doubtful mortal sin, simply confess it as doubtful: “Father X., I am doubtful if I committed this sin, but I…”.

However, you might make a perfect act of contrition, by setting aside 10-15 minutes and being contrite for your sins on account of God’s goodness. Perfect acts of contrition are not difficult to make on account of God’s mercy and generosity. In fact, it’s good to get in a habit of making them daily. We can benefit greatly from the immensity of those graces.
 
Eighty five or so years ago there were a number of people who warned that smoking cigarettes was harmful. They were ignored and laughed at.

After losing 2 cousins, 1 brother, 1 sister, a father, an uncle and an aunt to cancer, emphysema or heart disease caused by smoking, I have come to the conclusion that cigarette smoking is harmful.

We know the harm that alcohol presents. As a people we have lived with alcohol for nearly 10,000 years. No surprises there.

We know that marijuana alters the brain and that marijuana laced cookies can and have killed children. We do not know ALL the other side effects of marijuana but after 100 years or so these side effects will be known.

I don’t know if smoking marijuana is sinful but I do know that it is stupid.
 
HelenRose said:
Eighty five or so years ago there were a number of people who warned that smoking cigarettes was harmful. They were ignored and laughed at.

After losing 2 cousins, 1 brother, 1 sister, a father, an uncle and an aunt to cancer, emphysema or heart disease caused by smoking, I have come to the conclusion that cigarette smoking is harmful.

We know the harm that alcohol presents. As a people we have lived with alcohol for nearly 10,000 years. No surprises there.

We know that marijuana alters the brain and that marijuana laced cookies can and have killed children. We do not know ALL the other side effects of marijuana but after 100 years or so these side effects will be known.

I don’t know if smoking marijuana is sinful but I do know that it is stupid.
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According to this article, cannabis has been used as a psychoactive agent since at least 2700BC.

Two earlier studies on cannabis use:

Indian Hemp Drugs Commission

La Guardia Committee
 
Statistics are generally more helpful than anecdotes. It’s possible to overdose on Vitamin A if you eat an insane amount of carrots. I’m sure someone, somewhere, has done that. It would be silly to extrapolate from that that eating carrots is dangerous, since 99.99999999999999% of people who eats carrots don’t get beta-carotene poisoning.

I’m not saying the math is the same for smoking marijuana, obviously. Just making the point that looking at the population as a whole is more helpful than picking out individual cases.
 
HelenRose said:
We will see in our own families what the harm will be. Statistics mean nothing when your child is lost in a haze of lonely weed and far out of your reach and love.
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Abuse of anything is bad. 🤷

The question is: Is smoking weed wrong (immoral)
Answer: No, not intrinsically.
If illegal, then immoral, because it is immoral to break just laws.
If abused, yes immoral.

Other than that, it’s a plant that has an effect on the body.
Kinda like alcohol.
Coffee.
Chocolate.
 
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