Just *why* is marijuana use wrong?

[JHow]

McKinley Morganfield had this to say:

“Well you know I’m gonna stick with my reefer
Ain’t gonna be messin’ round with no cocaine.”

youtube.com/watch?v=oHowqKYSXNI

Probably the last coherent doper to put pen to ink.

 

[Dwyer]

This should help answer the OP’s original question why the use of marijuana (for personal pleasure) is immoral:

Catholic answers from the ewtn.com website:

Quote:

In theology we are studying morality and bio-ethics. During our double periods we are given a certain situation.

This week my group got a situation in which a teen couple was selling marijuana as a way to make money for college.

Is smoking marijuana against the 5th commandment?

Some of us said yes, and others (you have been known to do drugs) said no.
Who is right?

Answer by Fr.Stephen F. Torraco on 02-01-2002:

It is indeed against the 5th Commandment.

It is also against the 4th Commandment, according to which we are obliged to obey the civil law that is in harmony with the natural law.

Would it be a mortal sin to smoke it (i.e., marijuana) for entertainment) once every 6 months to a year, even though I have never had any problems with addiction with it? I’m in college so it’s almost everywhere.

Thanks!

Answer by Fr. John Echert on 08-11-2002:

The following texts of the Catechism address the issue of illegal and illicit drug use:

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.

2211 The political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it, and to ensure especially:

• the freedom to establish a family, have children, and bring them up in keeping with the family’s own moral and religious convictions;

• the protection of the stability of the marriage bond and the institution of the family;

• the freedom to profess one’s faith, to hand it on, and raise one’s children in it, with the necessary means and institutions;

• the right to private property, to free enterprise, to obtain work and housing, and the right to emigrate;

• in keeping with the country’s institutions, the right to medical care, assistance for the aged, and family benefits;

• the protection of security and health, especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc.;

• the freedom to form associations with other families and so to have representation before civil authority.

The use of Marijuana is illegal and immoral, and I believe that it is a sin that could be mortal, given the terrible web of evil of which it is a part.

Any participation in the world of illegal drugs contributes towards and participates in a very dark world, which involves destroyed lives and families, crime, murder, prostitution, and Lord knows what else.

Have NOTHING to do with the world of drugs.

If you can go six months without a hit, you can go six years, or sixty, or six hundred without a hit.

If your friends are into the drug scene, you need different friends. Get involved with a good Catholic group on campus, and I bet you will find plenty of drug free activities and friends.

And I recommend that you make a good Confession, soon, to put any past use behind you.

Thanks, John

Father Echert

I agree totally with the cathechism on its stand with drug abuse, but in regards to marijuana I have to regard it in a different light.

A “drug” by what is meant in the cathechism is what I would consider is something taken which is “both” unnatural to the body and unhealthy.

I would have to put all illicit drugs except marijuana in the category of “unnatural” and “unhealthy”.

Marijuana is the only commonly used drug that is naturally growing and not “manufactured.”

I have to attest to the fact that marijuana “if used properly” can be relaxing and can stimulate a state of mind that is productive and creative.

I am not saying that it can’t be abused, but it is not as evil as claimed.

I believe that if we separate marijuana from the other drugs and drug culture then we can see its benefits.

As for the issue of marijuana being obtained from drug dealers, I encourage people to grow their own (and I mean only their own, not enough to sell to others for profit). By doing this, people sever their ties with the evils of the “drug world.”

Please give me replies and opinions to this statement.

Answer by Fr. John Echert on 08-12-2002:

Marijuana can be very destructive, and it does often lead into more deadly drugs.

You cannot separate Marijuana out of the dark drug world which exists.

There are good reasons why even society judges it wrong and the law makes it illegal.

I suggest you pray a rosary, every time you get the urge to get high, and stimulate your mind and soul properly.

Father Echert

Source:

ewtn.com/vexperts/search.asp

Type in marijuana; and voila!

Commandments from Catholic Catechism:

1. Honor your father and mother (includes civil authority).
2. You shall not kill (respect for human life).

We have priests and bishops who do smoke cigarettes… so how do we say ‘smoking is wrong’ when you have a cleric who does the same?

According to the catechism of CC, it is not immoral to smoke tobacco, as long as it is smoked in moderation and Temperance is used.

 

[davidv]

If you expect to scare a kid of drugs by pointing out that ANYTHING causes chemical changes throughout the body, that’s a guaranteed fail, The kid, right around the time he’s no longer afraid to drink water, takes a hit off a reefer and when he notices that he doesn’t start looking for the heroin needle is going to think lectures about use of narcotics that really can destroy a person are either overstated hysteria or outright lies.

If I have a scotch I want and expect there to be changes in brain chemistry. That’s the point of having one.

Why do you assume its meant to scare them?

Sounds like it is meant to educate them with facts.

 

[stringbeanduck]

I agree totally with the cathechism on its stand with drug abuse, but in regards to marijuana I have to regard it in a different light.

A “drug” by what is meant in the cathechism is what I would consider is something taken which is “both” unnatural to the body and unhealthy.

I would have to put all illicit drugs except marijuana in the category of “unnatural” and “unhealthy”.

Marijuana is the only commonly used drug that is naturally growing and not “manufactured.”

I have to attest to the fact that marijuana “if used properly” can be relaxing and can stimulate a state of mind that is productive and creative.

I am not saying that it can’t be abused, but it is not as evil as claimed.

I believe that if we separate marijuana from the other drugs and drug culture then we can see its benefits.

As for the issue of marijuana being obtained from drug dealers, I encourage people to grow their own (and I mean only their own, not enough to sell to others for profit). By doing this, people sever their ties with the evils of the “drug world.”

Please give me replies and opinions to this statement.

Quote:
Answer by Fr. John Echert on 08-12-2002:

Marijuana can be very destructive, and it does often lead into more deadly drugs.

You cannot separate Marijuana out of the dark drug world which exists.

There are good reasons why even society judges it wrong and the law makes it illegal.

I suggest you pray a rosary, every time you get the urge to get high, and stimulate your mind and soul properly.

Father Echert

I must say I highly disagree with this Priest’s response. Heck it’s not even backed up with anything to match this person’s statement. “You cannot separate Marijuana out of the dark drug world which exists.” Hogwash! There’s ways of obtaining marijuana outside of the drug world and the questioner mentioned a really good one. It never was a big bad scary drug until society gave it that background. Clearly this Priest put little intelligence in this answer.

Of course your never going see Priest respond with something positive about marijuana use on ewtn website. Talk and debate that reasoning with a Priest in private and there’s a chance they’ll respond differently.

 

[commoncents]

except
voanews.com/english/news/Eight-Cyclists-Dead-After-Collision-in-Italy-----111347124.html

“The driver of the car, a Moroccan national, was arrested. Police are quoted as saying he tested positive for marijuana.”

You do realize that marijuana can stay in your system for up to 30 days, right? He could have smoked a joint last week and came up positive. That proves nothing.

Either way there are FAR more deaths that have to do with drinking and driving than smoking marijuana and driving…in fact I am quite positive that there are more deaths associated with prescription drugs and driving than marijuana.

 

[commoncents]

I think that there is a big difference between smoking marijuana and drinking alcoholic beverages. The only intent of smoking is to get high, while in the case of alcoholic beverages that it is not true.

Why do you say this? What evidence do you have of this? Trust me, there are weed connoisseurs that are just as passionate about the taste of weed as win connoisseurs are about the taste of wine.

Alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana in every way.

 

[commoncents]

For what little it is worth, remind them that pot is the gateway drug. I speak from personal experience. No, not all people who smoke pot become harder addicts, but many addicts-myself included and many friends of mine who are also addicts-started with smoking pot, and when that did nothing for us, switched to harder and harder stuff.

In theory, smoking a little pot seems harmless-and for some people, it probably is-but you never know if your the type of person who will move on to harder drugs.

Aside from that, substance abuse leads to making stupid choices. Hooking up, driving, doing other really foolish things .

Just my two cents.

This is only because of its legality…if weed was legal, it would be as much of a gateway drug as alcohol.

 

[Rascalking]

This is only because of its legality…if weed was legal, it would be as much of a gateway drug as alcohol.

I’m not too sure about that one. Many people who drink have never touched pot or harder drugs.

 

[commoncents]

I’m not too sure about that one. Many people who drink have never touched pot or harder drugs.

Exactly…and it would be silly to suggest that if pot was legal as well that it would be any different. Alcohol impairs you more than pot does so why isn’t it a gateway drug? The answer is that it isn’t a gateway drug because its legal. I have a feeling in places where alcohol is illegal it is also a gateway drug.

Honestly, for myself and my friends weed was a huge gateway drug. I can’t think of one person I know that smoked a large amount of weed that never tried anything else…but I honestly think that has more to do with the black market and how people get weed than the drug itself.

 

[CrimsonCatholic]

So what is the official stance on the Church with the issue, is it because it’s illegal?

Just curious.

 

[Reservoir_Dog]

The notion of weed being a “gateway drug” is also disputed. The thread shouldn’t assume cause and effect because the phrase has been thrown around. The issue is more complex.

 

[Cristiano]

Why do you say this? What evidence do you have of this? Trust me, there are weed connoisseurs that are just as passionate about the taste of weed as win connoisseurs are about the taste of wine.

Alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana in every way.

Trust me!

If the intake of cannabis is not through smoke then your point is false. If the intake of cannabis is trough smoke then we are in the same field of tobacco preparation and it has nothing to do with cannabis.

If it is only about the taste then you could deactivate the active ingredient and not hear any complaints, right? I doubt that pot smoker would accept the elimination of the buzz. It is not about taste.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Trust me!

If the intake of cannabis is not through smoke then your point is false. If the intake of cannabis is trough smoke then we are in the same field of tobacco preparation and it has nothing to do with cannabis.

If it is only about the taste then you could deactivate the active ingredient and not hear any complaints, right? I doubt that pot smoker would accept the elimination of the buzz. It is not about taste.

Hmm…you’ve not read very much on the subject, then. There are magazines (i.e., West Coast Cannabis) that have articles discussing various aspects of various strains. They talk about appearance, smell, TASTE and effect. I have a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana and one of the things I look for is something that smells fruity and have a pleasant taste. I once got a strain that tasted like cat urine (in fact, the name of the strain is Cat Urine with Urine being replaced by a common word for urine in the US or drinking in the UK) but was very effective. I didn’t like it at all. Blech! I didn’t care how effective it was, I could barely inhale it it was so foul. In order to get through the rest of what I bought, I had to combine it with other strains (medical marijuana isn’t cheap!).

 

[Cristiano]

Hmm…you’ve not read very much on the subject, then. There are magazines (i.e., West Coast Cannabis) that have articles discussing various aspects of various strains. They talk about appearance, smell, TASTE and effect. I have a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana and one of the things I look for is something that smells fruity and have a pleasant taste. I once got a strain that tasted like cat urine (in fact, the name of the strain is Cat Urine with Urine being replaced by a common word for urine in the US or drinking in the UK) but was very effective. I didn’t like it at all. Blech! I didn’t care how effective it was, I could barely inhale it it was so foul. In order to get through the rest of what I bought, I had to combine it with other strains (medical marijuana isn’t cheap!).

You are just making my point that it is about the buzz. The rest can be and add on. but it really about the effect of the active ingredient. You are saying that you use marijuana for medical purposes, then it means that you use it for its effect as a narcotic.

The fact that there are magazines about taste and smell does not mean anything. Do you remember when there were a lot of “naturist” magazines that had really nothing to do with being a true naturist?

 

[stringbeanduck]

I’m not too sure about that one. Many people who drink have never touched pot or harder drugs.

And many people who have smoked pot have never touched hard drugs, however most people who have touched hard drugs have tried alcohol before pot.

 

[edwest2]

So what is the official stance on the Church with the issue, is it because it’s illegal?

Just curious.

Here it is:

ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PCFDRUGS.HTM

I suggest anyone who is skeptical about the negative effects of marijuana contact any drug treatment center in their area. Anonymous people on the internet pushing a positive view are not experts.

Peace,
Ed

 

[edwest2]

The notion of weed being a “gateway drug” is also disputed. The thread shouldn’t assume cause and effect because the phrase has been thrown around. The issue is more complex.

More complex? Then why not get some facts?

justice.gov/dea/demand/speakout/index.html

Peace,
Ed

 

[Reservoir_Dog]

Here it is:

ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PCFDRUGS.HTM

I suggest anyone who is skeptical about the negative effects of marijuana contact any drug treatment center in their area. Anonymous people on the internet pushing a positive view are not experts.

Peace,
Ed

You don’t drink, do you?

 

[davidv]

You don’t drink, do you?

Relevance?

What individuals do has no bearing on the rightness or wrongness of some thing.

 

[Reservoir_Dog]

Relevance?

What individuals do has no bearing on the rightness or wrongness of some thing.

Do you drink? Alcohol is a gateway drug. Just go to any AA meeting and see for yourself.

Hmm… do you eat? Try OA to see how destructive eating can be.

Don’t dodge the question though. Ever had a wee nip?